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ANNALS

OF THE

CHURCH IN SLAITHWAITE,

(NEAR HUDDERSFIELD),

WEST-RIDING OF YORKSHIRE,

From 1593 to 1864,

IN FIVE LECTURES,

WITH A CONTINUATION AND NOTES.

BY CHARLES AUGUSTUS HULBERT, M.A.,

PERPETUAL CURATE OF SLAITHWAITE-CUM-LINGARDS,

AUTHOR OF THE “GOSPEL REVEALED TO JOB.”

“This Shall be written for the generation to come,

And the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.”

Psalm eii. 18.

LONDON :

LONGMAN & 00.

HUDDERSFIELD: JOSEPH BROOK.

1864.

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TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

WILLIAM WALTER,

FIFTH EARL OF DARTMOUTH,

LORD VISCOUNT LEWISHAM, ETC., ETC.,
WHO, AS LORD OF THE MANOR OF
SLAITHWAITE-CUM-LINGARDS,

HAS SUCCEEDED TO A LONG LINE OF ANCESTRY
IN THE SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH,

WITHIN THAT THEIR ANCIENT DOMAIN,
THESE ANNALS
ARE, WITH PERMISSION,

RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY DEDICATED
BY

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

The ancient and populous Chapelry of Slaithwaite,
or Slaugh- waite, situated chiefly within the extensive
Parish of Huddersfield, but lying on either side of a
romantic valley, from four to six miles east of that
town, has been long remarkable for its succession of
pious ministers, — and, of late years, for its Mineral
Baths.

The Yorkshire reader will not fail to add, with a
smile — for its famous half moon ! The version of the
tradition deemed most authentic, represents a boy
from Slaithwaite as spending the day at York, in
admiration of many things in the Metropolitan City
of the North, so different from what he had seen at
home ; but when night came he exclaimed — “ Well !
if there is not our Old Slaughwaite Half Moon ! ” Dr.
Chalmers relates a similar story of a man whom he
engaged to drive him from Huddersfield to the roman¬
tic parts of Derbyshire, and whose constant surprise

PREFACE.

Viii.

was excited by scenes so different from anything “ in
all Huddersfield.”

There is, however, a moral in the story which is
not without its bearing on the present volume. The
Moon is the Scriptural symbol of the Church, as a
light-bearer, and as reflecting the glory of the Sun
of Righteousness, and surely “ the Church of our
Fathers,” in her Doctrine and Liturgy, fairly repre¬
sents that secondary splendour. The Churchman in
his wanderings through his native land, rejoices to
find, amidst the diversities of men’s minds and man¬
ners, the same blessed luminary in every parish,
although shining with greater or less brilliancy. The
Author of this volume deems it a privilege to have
ministered for a quarter of a century, where that light
had been so purely diffused for so many generations.
May these “Annals” tend to foster — not a worldly
Churchmanship, — but the growth of that simple and
Evangelical piety, which owns Christ crucified as the
Sun and centre of its system, and the Church as the
Moon at his feet : that faith which is the work of
the Spirit, which itself worketh by love and overcometh
the world.

PREFACE.

IX.

The name of Slaughwaite — derived from the sloe
tree — also refers to its once woody character. Hence,
combining these two allusions, the device in front of
this preface represents the moon rising out of a
thicket, with the words 11 E Luco Lux ” (Out of the
grove light), invented at the request of the Slaith waite
Gas Light Company, for their seal and motto. The
traveller by night along the London and North
Western Eailway from Huddersfield to Manchester,
may observe that, alone of all the villages in the
valley, the street and road lamps of Slaithwaite cast
their beams on all the surrounding country. Even so
have the various Spiritual and Educational lights
kindled in our midst, shed their benignant rays on
those portions of the population which were not equally
blest with the light of the Established Church.

The, Mineral Springs and Baths, with the lovely
gardens in which they are embosomed, augment the
remarkable salubrity of the district: to which salubrity
Dr. Aikin bore testimony seventy years ago, in his
“ Description of the Country thirty or forty miles
round Manchester, 1793.’ * After describing Hudders¬
field, he adds : —

PREFACE.

“The Chapelry of Slaughwaite in this parish,
which equally partakes of the increased population
from trade, has afforded the following list of births
and deaths, — 1784 — Christenings, 124; Burials, 53.
1785 — Christenings, 135 ; Burials, 29. 1786 — Chris¬
tenings, 140 ; Burials, 49. 1787 — Christenings, 140 ;
Burials 90. 1788 — Christenings, 153: Burials, 37.
From this table a very favourable idea may be
deduced of the healthiness of this district, and the
advantages it offers for the increase of the human
species. These chiefly proceed from the comparative
healthiness of a manufacture carried on in rural
situations, and at the workmen’s own houses ; from
the plenty of employ and high price of labour
encouraging to early matrimony ; and from the warm
clothing, good fare, and abundant fuel enjoyed by the
industrious in this place.”

Although several Woollen and Cotton Manufac¬
tories now exist, and the population of the district
has increased to about 5,000, yet this description of
domestic employment, connected with small farms,
continues to apply, and with it much of patriarchal
manners and thought.

PREFACE.

xi.

In the days of Stage Coaches, ten passed through
the village daily; but the Eailway opened in 1849
has, however, more rapidly introduced modern refine¬
ments, and at the same time the deteriorating influ¬
ence of less simple pleasures.

The Sabbath is less hallowed by attendance in
God’s House, although great order prevails without.
Facilities are now being given for building: and as
our youth in large numbers, trained up in our Schools,
diffuse themselves over the country, we trust others
attracted by the advantages afforded, may supply their
places, whilst they carry intelligence and moral
influence abroad. About forty Schoolmasters and
Mistresses have been sent forth since thp opening of
our National School in 1835 ; and they have all been
taught those religious principles which, under the
grace of God, will render them a blessing wherever
they labour.

In all the departments of professional and com¬
mercial life we have our offshoots. To our eminent
native artist, Mr. Jabez E. Mayall, of London, this
Work owes the contribution of the photographic por-

Xll.

PREFACE.

trait of tlie Author. For the view of Slaithwaite
Church and Schools, he is indebted to his former
pupil, Mr. Albert Willan, B. A., of Caius College, Cam¬
bridge : and to the late Mrs. Dyson, of Huddersfield,
for the opportunity of copying the profile of her uncle,
the Bev. Thomas Wilson. The wall in front of the
view represents part of the ancient Chapel, still
hallowed by the graves of Mr. Meeke and other
venerable persons. The Author is also indebted to
various other friends for the information supplied; but
chiefly to the manuscripts of the former Ministers. In
printing the Lectures delivered in his National School,
in the spring of 1863, and the two Decenial Beports,
nearly in their original form, he has been actuated by
a desire to retain that freedom of style with which he
addressed his own parishioners, rather than any for¬
mal condensation for the sake of general readers.
The impatience expressed by many of the former for
the publication, which has been unavoidably delayed,
is the best assurance that the subject has awakened
a lively interest in their minds. Some whom the
Author wished thus to gratify, have themselves
become matter of history; but they are added to
the number of “the Spirits of just men made perfect.”

PREFACE.

xiii.

Of the succession of holy men, whose memoirs
form the most important part of this volume, it may be
said in the language of the Son of Sirach, “ All these
were honoured in their generation, and were the glory
of their times. Their bodies are buried in peace, but
their name liveth for evermore. The people will tell
of their wisdom, and the congregation will shew forth
their praise.” — Ecclesiasticus xliv. 7, 14 & 15.

The picturesque scenery, the Keservoir, the various
Schools, would have invited to further description and
illustration, but the design of the present work is
not topographical, but religious; and it would have
increased the expense and thereby defeated the object
— which is, to perpetuate among the humble and
pious people of this country the relics of their former
pastors, and at the same time to testify that Christ
has never been absent from the Church of these
realms ; but that He has been “ found in the fields of
the wood” “ that dwelt in the bush.” Psalm cxxxii.
6., Deut. xxxiii. 16. — In Luco Lux.

C. A. H.

Slaithwaite, June 7th, 1864.

THE BRITISH CHURCH.

I joy, deare Mother, when I view.
Thy perfedl lineaments, and hue

Both fweet and bright;

Beautie in thee takes up her place.

And dates her letters from thy face.
When fhe doth write.

A fine afpeft in fit array.

Neither too mean, nor yet too gay.
Shows who is beft:

Outlandifh looks may not compare;

For all they either painted are.

Or elfe undreft.

******

But, deareft Mother, (what thofe miffe)
The mean thy praife and glory is.

And long may be.

BlefTed be God, whofe love it was
fo double-moat thee with his grace.
And none but thee.

George Herbert.

CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.

Introduction.— Early History : 1593 to 1685.— Incumbency
of the Rev. Robert Meeke, 1685 to 1724.

Clothing district early favoured with faithful Ministers — Arch¬
bishop Grindal’s letter to Queen Elizabeth — Valley of the Colne
— Descent of the Earl of Dartmouth — Family of Kaye — Dooms¬
day book — Etymology of Golcar, Lingards, and Slaithwaite —
Dr. Walker — Dewsbury Parish Church — Crosses at Slaithwaite,
Golcar, Woodhouse, and Deanhead — Ancient Chapel repaired —
Sir John Kaye — Parliamentary survey — Baptisms and burials
— Dark age of the Church — Revival of religion — Succession of
Ministers — -Church of our Fathers — Rev. Robert Meeke, 1685
to 1724 — William Meeke — Salford Chapel — JEneas Bottomley —
Extracts from Mr. Meeke’s diary — Old burial place — Free
School — Sermon of Mr. Meeke — Lists of Archbishops of York
and Bishops of Ripon. Pages 12 to 38.

Appendix No. I.

Manors in Doomday book — Lingards and Linthwaite parlia¬
mentary writs — Tyas family — Law suit for Slaithwaite, in Henry
VIII.’s time — Lawton’s Notices of Slaithwaite — Mr. Meeke’s
endowment deed and will — Register of birth. Pages 39 to 44.

LECTURE II.

The Rev. John Sutcliffe, Incumbent, 1724 to 1727.— Rev.
Joseph Thorns, 1727 to 1760.— Rev. John Murgatroyd,
Schoolmaster, 1738 to 1786. — Occasional Ministers, to
1806.

Edmund Bothomley — Elegy on the Rev. John Sutcliffe, by Mr.
Boulton — Rev. Joseph Thoms’s sermons — Renewal of trust deeds
— Death of Mr. Thoms — Rev. John Murgatroyd : extracts from

xvi.

CONTENTS.

his manuscripts ; Chinches supplied ; inscriptions on his house
and school ; persecution at Marsden ; resignation, death, and
burial ; extract from his diary. Pages 45 to 60.

Appendix No. II.

Presentation to Archdeacon, by John Eagland, of Mr. Thoms
and others — Slaithwaite Free School, copy of second endowment
deed — Messrs. Walker and others — Mrs. Dorothy Walker —
Graduation of Ministers. Pages 61 to 65.

LECTURE III.

The Revival of Religion. — Rev. Henry Venn. — Rev.
Samuel Furly, B.A., Incumbent, 1761 to 1767.— Rev.
Matthew Powley, M.A., Incumbent, 1767 to 1777. —
Their subsequent Memoirs.

Infidelity prevailing — The Wesleys — Rev. Benjamin Ingham
— Dr. Conyers — Rev. William Grimshaw and Isaac Smith,
Haworth — Countess of Huntingdon — William, second Earl of
Dartmouth — Cowper’s lines — James Hall, Golcar — Longwood
Chapel — Elland Society — Rev. Samuel Furly : successful minis¬
try ; enlargement of Chapel ; pastoral address ; opposition ; letter
of Archbishop of York ; removal to St. Roche ; letter to Mr.
Joseph Mellor — Extract from Memoirs of the Countess of Hun¬
tingdon ; visit of her Ladyship to Slaithwaite — Obituary in the
Evangelical Magazine — Rev. Matthew Powley : preaching in the
Burial Ground ; great floods ; reading the Articles ; removal to
Dewsbury ; traditional account ; monument — Extract from Mr.
Venn’s life — Life of the Countess of Huntingdon— Family of
Unwin — Account of Mr. Powley in the “ Life of the Rev. John
Buckworth” — Mrs. Powley’s monument. Pages 66 to 97.

Appendix No. III.

William, second Earl of Dartmouth — Elland Society — Lay
and Clerical contributors — Memorial to Rev. Henry Venn — Rev.
Matthew Powley, extracts from registers, &c. Pages 98 to 100.

LECTURE IV.

The Rev. Thomas Wilson, Curate and Incumbent, 1777 to
1809. — Rev. Walter Smith, Curate, 1789 and 1790.— Rev.
William Roberts, Curate, 1805 to 1810.

CONTENTS.

Mr. Wilson’s first coming — Difficulties respecting rebuilding the
Chapel — Spiritual success : Sunday School begun — New Church
built — Trustees — Unity and conformity — Pews — Parsonage house
— Queen Anne’s bounty — Great distress — Rev. Walter Smith —
Origin of Dissent inSlaithwaite — Powle Moor Chapel — Providence
Chapel — Death of Mrs. Wilson — Death of Mr. Wilson : character
and style ; anecdote ; burial ; inscription on tombstone ; sermon
for Church Missionary Society — Memoir by Rev. W. Roberts, in
Cottage Magazine — Obituary by Rev. Walter Smith. Pages 101
to 129.

Appendix No. 1 V.

Powle Chapel: Ministers — Great scarcity — Rev. Walter Smith :
obituary and tombstone — Rev. William Roberts — Registers — Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph Roberts — Rev. Samuel Longhurst, and other
Ministers of Linthwaite. Pages 129 to 132.

LECTURE V.

The Rev. Charles Chew, Incumbent, 1810 to 1818.— Rev.
Samuel Walter, Curate, 1815 to 1818; Incumbent, 1818
to 1823. — Rev. Thomas Jackson, Incumbent, 1823 to 1839.

Mr. Chew’s previous history — Rev. E. Parkin, W. Hanbury,
and W. Harding — Removal of Sunday School — Appointment of
George Mellor — Weekly meetings of communicants — Resignation
— Rev. Legh Richmond : sermon at Slaith waite — Rev. J. Wesley
on female preaching — Hoylehouse Methodist Chapel — Church
tower raised — Rev. Samuel Walter — Note from funeral sermon
by Rev. H. J. Maddock — Revs. John Eyton, William Morgan
and Patrick Bronte — Mr. Walter’s long sermons at Huddersfield
— Family — Distribution of tracts — Tombstones at Madely and
Slaithwaite — Rev. Thomas Jackson : appointment by Rev. John
Coates ; selection of hymns ; trouble with Organist ; marriage ;
failure of health ; Curates ; officiating Ministers ; graduation at
Cambridge; Incumbents of Golcar — Rev. James Lacy — Sunday
School remodelled — National School commenced — Discipline —
New road — Public baths — Preparatory School — School at Cophill
— Ministers of Linthwaite : Rev. N. Padweck and Dr. Wolff —
Centenary Chapel — Wm. Bamforth — Anecdotes — Samuel Wood
— John Lawson Varley — James Roberts — James Sykes — First
confirmation — Mr. Jackson’s death, gravestone, and monument.
Pages 133 to 162.

xvm.

CONTENTS.

Appendix No. V.

Church Missionary Society — Preachers and collections — Rev.
John Coates — Rev. William Robinson — Rev. Thomas Jackson :
further particulars — St. John’s Church, Golcar — Dates of Minis¬
ters — Linth waite Hall — Clerical scholars of Slaith waite School —
Rev. James Dransfield, James Quarmby, Joseph and John
Dransfield — Sunday Schools — Organ — William Whitacre, Esq.—
Extracts from Churchwardens' accounts. Pages 163 to 168.

CONTINUATION.

Rev. C. A. Hulbert, Incumbent, 1839 to 1864.

Reception on coming — Previous ministry at Islington — Visit
of the Earl of Dartmouth — House of residence improved.

First Decennial Report. — Sunday School reformed — Cottage
lectures — Lending library — School at Holthead — Erection of
National School : opening, bazaar, inspection — Second confirma¬
tion — Free School rebuilt and restored — O’ Cot Chapel bought and
removed — Upper Slaithwaite School and Licensed Chapel —
Mechanics Institution — District Visiting Society — Maternal
Society — Clothing Club — Spade Husbandry Association — Prac¬
tical observations. Pages 169 to 184.

Second Decennial Report, 1850 to 1859. — Retrospect —
Annual School Sermons — Fifth confirmation — Rev. T. H. Wat¬
son — Young Men’s Classes — Illness — Lectures on Job — New
Schoolhouse at Lingards — Foundation and opening — Infidel pub¬
lications — Mormonism — Holmfirth Flood — Improvement of organ
— Sixth confirmation — Ordination sermon — Death of the Earl of
Dartmouth — Memorial window — New chancel erected by bis son
— Antechapel — License to marry — New Burial Ground — Free
School suspended — Rebuilding of Farmhouse — Gas Company —
Widows’ cottages — Free School : new scheme for management —
Visit of the Earl and Countess of Dartmouth— Opening of the
Infant School — West Slaithwaite School : laying of first stone —
Opening of the Meeke and Walker’s Institution — Great meeting
of Sunday Schools on Whit-Monday, 1855 — Bishop Bickersteth:
first sermon at Slaithwaite — Eighth confirmation — Church Mis¬
sionary Society — District Visiting Society — Legal provision for
the Minister— Concluding observations — State of the Schools,
1860. Pages- 185 to 205.

CONTENTS.

xix.

CONCLUSION.

Retrospect op the Sears 1860 to 1864. — Biographical
Notices.

West Slaithwaite School completed— Psalmody — Rifle Volun-
teers — Ninth confirmation — Annual sermons and collection —
Marriage of Prince and Princess of Wales — Indisposition of
Author — John Schofield — John Varley — Richard Varley —
Robert Wood — Joseph Mellor — James Bamforth, Birks — Joshua
Bamford, Slacks — Samuel Sykes — George Mellor — James Bam¬
forth, Holme — Thomas Haigh, Colnebridge — John Roberts —
William Dean — William, fourth Earl of Dartmouth : letter to
the Author — Frederick Thynne, Esq. — Spade Husbandry Meet¬
ings — Assistant Curates : Rev. Charles Brumell, Cutfield Ward-
roper, Thomas Henry Watson, Stephen Pering Dampen, William
Henry Girling, William Callis, John Teague Green way, William
Gray Gilchrist, and E. G. Charlesworth — Rev. J oseph Hughes :
character and death — Visits of Bishops Longley and Bickerstetk
— Conclusion.

Appendix No. VI.

Frederick Thynne, Esq. : extract from speech — Benefac¬
tion Boards and Inscriptions — Clock — Slaithwaite Church and
Curacy — School Terrace — Old Free School — National School-
house — Upper Slaithwaite School — Lingards School — West
Slaithwaite School.

Obituary : Members of the District Visiting Society ; other
venerable inhabitants ; Providence Chapel; James Hall, Golcar ;
Rev. W. C. Madden ; Dr. Edmund Smith ; Messrs. D. and Ca
Evans. Pages 229 to 244.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Portrait and Autograph of the Author . . .

Vignette and Motto .

Profile of the Rev. Thomas Wilson .

View of Slaithwaite Church, Free School,
and National School .

To front the Title.

,, the Preface.

„ page 114.

„ page 169.

SLAITHWA1TE CHUKCH ANNALS.

LECTUEB I.

Introduction — Early History, 1593 to 1685 —
Incumbency of the Eey. Eobert Meeke, 1685
to 1724.

The Church of England has not, we believe, in the worst
and darkest times, wanted able and holy Ministers, who
in the remote valleys of our land, have kept alive the
lamp of gospel light. Perhaps this is especially the
case in the Northern Counties, whence many of the
eminent Eeformers of our Church arose; who first
adorned the Universities with their learning, and
afterwards, devoting it to the glory of God, were
the valiant defenders of the faith.

The immense parish of Halifax — in area exceeding
the County of Eutland — and the clothing district
around it, were highly favoured with faithful Ministers
in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Archbishop Grindal,

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

writing to that illustrious Princess in defence of the
practice of preaehing, in the year 1576, reminds her
that the rebellion, which had recently been suppressed
in the North, was occasioned “ through papistry and
ignorance of God’s word, through want of often
preaching ! And in the time of that rebellion” he says,
“ were not all men of all states, that made profession
of the gospel, most ready to offer their lives in your
defence ? In so much that one poor parish in York¬
shire, which by continual preaching had been better
instructed than the rest (Halifax I mean) was ready
to bring three or four thousand able men into the
field to serve you against the said rebels. How can
your Majesty have a more lively trial and experience
of the contrary effects of much preaching, and of little
or no preaching? The one working most faithful
obedience, and the other most unnatural disobedience
and rebellion.” In the same letter, the Archbishop
declares that “ Public and continual preaching of
God’s word is the ordinary means and instrument of
the Salvation of Mankind.”* “I myself,” he adds,
“ procured above forty learned preachers and graduates
within less than six years to be placed within the
Diocese of York besides those I found there.”

We must, however, confine ourselves to one of the
remoter ramifications of this fruitful vine — the Valley
of Slaithwaite, running for about seven miles from

* See the “ Remains of Edmund Grindal, D.D., successively
Bishop of London, and Archbishop of York and Canterbury.” —
Parker Society Edition, 1843, page 380.

INTRODUCTORY HISTORY.

East to We3t, from Huddersfield towards the Moun¬
tain Chain, which forms part of the backbone of
England ; and practically separates Yorkshire from
Lancashire.

The Valley is watered by the Kiver Colne, rising in
the hills at the head of the Valley and flowing west¬
ward to Huddersfield, about two miles beyond which
town, it falls into the Calder, and thence onward to the
German Ocean. This stream divides the two great
parishes of Huddersfield and Almondbury, the former
on the North, and the latter on the South side ; in which
during the last thirty years there has been a remark¬
able extension of Church accommodation, and a body
of Clergy rarely equalled for unity and devotedness.

The Ancient Chapel of Slaithwaite stood in the
midst of this valley, and was the only one, until the
above augmentation, for the four Townships of Slaith¬
waite and Golcar in the parish of Huddersfield,
and Lingards and Linthwaite in that of Almondbury.
But the two Townships of Slaithwaite and Lingards,
though in different parishes, forming one Manor, and
isolated from the other estates, were always in a pre¬
scriptive manner more closely united, and form at
present the parpchial chapelry or new parish of Slaith-
waite-cum-Lingards. The Church Bate for the repairs
of the Chapel, has always been limited to, and continued
uninterruptedly in these two Townships. They are
the property of the Earl of Dartmouth, derived by descent
from the issue of the marriage, above a century ago, of
George Viscount Lewisham to the heiress of Sir Arthur
Kaye, Bart., of Woodsome Hall, in Almondbury.

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

At the time of the conquest the whole country was
probably a forest. The nearest manors mentioned in
the Doomsday Book, are Croisland and Gudlacsarc,
(or Gudlacscar) ; with the last, we shall have to do, as
representing the modern Township of Golcar. Guthlac
appears to have been an Anglo-Saxon Saint; there
is a Church dedicated to St. Guthlac in Hereford¬
shire, named in the same record. Tradition says
that the valley was so full of wood, that a squirrel
could leap from bough to bough, all the way from
Marsden to Huddersfield. Such is certainly not
its present appearance, although it has many lovely
points, and numbers of places, long ago stripped of
their “ wood,” still retain the name. Fossil trees
have been found lying at full length on the surface
of the earth, and the boulder stones of Lingards
(Lingearths) especially, are full of these remains of
primeval forests. The name of Slaithwaite, originally
Slaugh-thwaite, or Slaighthwaite, is derived from the
slaigh, slack, or sloe tree, which once prevailed ; and
which is still found wild in the adjoining Township
of Marsden. In clearing Slaithwaite Moss a few
years ago, Mr. John Bamford, of Barrett, found the
remains of a charcoal fire, about four feet below the
surface of the peat.

It is the opinion of some antiquaries, including our
learned friend Dr. Walker, of Deanhead, that Mis¬
sionary Priests traversed the country in early times
from Dewsbury, the great Mother Church of the large
district, including Halifax, Almondburv, Kirkheaton,

INTRODUCTORY HISTORY.

Kirkburton, and Huddersfield ; and that Guthlacscar,
or Guthlac’s Dock, may have been a “scar” or rock
on which the gospel was originally preached. Another
is pointed out at Woodhouse, on the East of Hudders¬
field, marked by a small cross, now in the garden of
the parsonage ; and a third, at Deanhead, in Scam-
monden, still called Cruthill, or Cruxhill — the site of
the present Chapel. Each of the two former places
is now crowned with a heaven pointing spire, and the
Chapel of Deanhead will soon be replaced by one of
the same character, by the exertions of the present
Incumbent. Crosses were erected in the meetings of
cross roads, here as elsewhere : the base and part of
the shaft of one still exist in front of the Manor
House, in the village of Slaith waite, and “ Lingards
Cross” was recklessly destroyed about thirty years ago.

These were probably the most ancieut scenes of
divine worship in the times before the Deformation,
but there wTere Chapels at Marsden and Slaith waite
some centuries ago. Marsden Chapel possesses a Eoyal
Grant, bearing date in the reign of Edward IV.- -and
there is a record that at Slaith waite “An Ancient Chapel
being much decayed, was repaired and enlarged at the
charge of John Kaye, Esq., and his tenants and
neighbouring inhabitants, in 1593,” the reign of Queen
Elizabeth. We have, however, no data for ascertaining
the origin of Slaithwaite Chapel, or anything of its
earlier history ; but as the Manor of Slaithwaite and
Lingards formed part of the possessions of the Earl
of Lancaster, and were held by members of the Tyas

SLAXTHWAlTE CHURCH ANNALS.

family, of Woodsome Hall, in Parnley Tyas, and their
collateral descendants and successors, the Kayes ; it
is most probable that in the more ancient times as now,
the family at Woodsome were tne chief promoters of
the Chapel. Sir John Kaye, of Woodsome, gave
£500 to King Charles I.,* and no doubt sustained the
interests of the Church. But in 1651, when the
Parliamentary Survey was made — the year when
Meltham Chapel was consecrated by an Irish Bishop
— it was reported that there was “Ho Minister, way
bad, and only four shillings per annum endowment,”
a sum which is still paid from a farm at the Binn, in
Marsden : the same report recommended the forma¬
tion of Slaith waite into a parish, with Linth waite, in
Almondbury annexed. Under the Commonwealth,
therefore, and the prevalence of the Independents, there
was no supply for the spiritual wants of the people.

We have no Ministerial records earlier than the
reign of Charles II. The first entry in our Register
is that of “ Burials” in 1679; there are also Baptisms
and Marriages in the same unknown hand, until 1685 ;
when the ministry of the Reverend Robert Meeke
commenced. But in a pastoral letter of the Rev.
Samuel Burly, published in 1 7 64, there is an intima¬
tion that the same moderately Calvinistic doctrines
were preached about eighty years before.

It has been common to denominate the eighteenth
century the dark age of the Church of England, but
not a few burning and shining lights existed in the

Lloyd’s Memoirs, 1668.

INTRODUCTORY HISTORY.

remote districts, whose rays, though extending no
further than their own valleys, kept the fire of true
Apostolic spirit glowing in the midst of general darkness
and coldness. This more particularly appears in the
early part of the century, when religion, both in the
established church and among the nonconformists was
at the lowest ebb. An Arian system of Theology, a
frigid morality, and a general laxity of manners,
followed the angry controversies of the period which
ended with the revolution in 1688. In the Isle of
Man, however, sound doctrine, united with primitive
discipline, subsisted under the episcopate of the truly
Apostolic Bishop Wilson, for 58 years, 1697 to 1755.
In general the Puritan strictness of manners, as well
as doctrine, had given way. Sancroft, Kenn, and the
non -jurors had left few successors, and the low church
party were Arminian at best, under Tillotson, Sherlock,
and others ; ultimately little better than heathen
morality was inculcated even by the successors of
Baxter, Owen and Howe ; and when the Kevival of
Beligion took place towards the middle of the century,
Doddridge was almost the only nonconformist of note
who gave it welcome.

That Bevival, however, shewed that the Established
Church contained within itself the seeds of its own
regeneration. The true x^postolic succession of holy
men and blessed confessors had never failed. The
Dove of peace bad never finally departed; England had
never wanted the real spiritual presence of Him who
walked among the golden candlesticks, and had the

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

stars in His right hand. There was “ the hiding of
his power but “ horns” (or beams) “ came out of
his hand, and his brightness was as the light,” and
this, in answer to the prayer of his secret ones, “ 0
Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the
midst of the years make known, in wrath remember
mercy.” Habakkuk, hi. 2, 4.

We have already suggested that some Minister,
whose religious sentiments were those of the moderate
Calvinistic section of the Church, seems to have pre¬
ceded Mr. Meeke, whose residence commenced here
in 1685, when James II. ascended the throne of these
realms, and continued until 1724, when G-eo. I. was
reigning. Mr. Meeke was followed for three years,
1724-27, by a Rev. John Sutcliffe, a good man, and
for thirty-three years by the Rev. Joseph Thorns, who
appears to have been as dry and ethical in doctrine as
he was unspiritual in life, reaching to the beginning
of the reign of Geo. III., when the celebrated Henry
Venn, being Yicar of Huddersfield, and therefore
Patron of the Perpetual Curacy of Slaithwaite, ap¬
pointed the Reverend Samuel Purly, a man of his own
decidedly Evangelical sentiments and spirit. Prom
that time, until my appointment in 1839, a period of
eighty years, including the long reign of Geo. III.,
and those of Geo. IV., William IV., and Victoria,
there has been a succession of holy and devoted men,
Evangelical in their general doctrine, although varying
in their particular views of predestination and election ;
and if I might he allowed to add my own name to the

INTRODUCTORY HISTORY.

honourable list of my predecessors, there has been a
succession, with one exception, for a hundred and
eighty years — and without any exception, eor one
hundred years of Ministers holding and preaching
the distinctive doctrines of the Eeformed Church of
England, in all their fulness and depth, accompanied by
a life of devotedness and consistency.

This is the proposition to be maintained in the
following pages ; and it is the more remarkable, as it
has become almost a proverb, that a pure dispensation
of religion never remains above three generations in
the same place. In the Homily of our Church against
Idolatry, third part, it is advanced against the use of
Images, which it was maintained by Papists would be
harmless, while accompanied by a faithful Ministry to
limit and explain their use, that “ It appeareth not by
any story of credit, that the true and sincere preaching
hath endured in any one place above one hundred
years ; but it is evident that Images, Superstition, and
Idolatry, have continued many hundred years.”

This notable circumstance may, however, well prove
one of warning, lest the candlestick should soon be
removed from its place, unless we walk in the light
of it, and pray for a continual supply of the oil of
divine grace to keep it burning. Once we have heard
there was no minister — when the Established Church
of England was prostrate in the dust ; — and there are
still those who cry, “ Down with her, down with her,
even to the ground !”

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Tliese considerations originated (in 1844) the poem
which is so frequently sung until enthusiasm to a well-
known chant : —

Cl)e Cijurc!) at our

“Our holy and our beautiful house where our fathers praised
thee.”— Isaiah, lxiv. 11.

Why should I wander from the ways
My wise forefathers trod,

Or, in these cold degenerate days,

Forsake the Church of God ?

They loved the venerable dome,

Where still their ashes lie,

The Saint’s abode, the Martyr’s home,

The portal of the sky !

For there, upon their infant brow,

The cross’s sign was made ;

The token of the Christian’s vow,

Till death to be obeyed.

And there their youthful lips had join’d
The plaintive Psahn to raise,

And there they bent with lowly mind
To mingle prayer with praise.

There did their faltering accents plight
Their vows of mutual faith, t

There did the white-robed Priest unite
Their hands and lives till death.

THE CHURCH OF OUR FATHERS.

There, constant in their well-loved place,
Each Sabbath saw them throng,

With reverent step and serious face,

The sounding aisles along.

They loved the floor then- fathers trod
For many an age long past,

It was the ancient house of God,

From age to age to last.

Great was their zeal, with decent care,

Its high vault to adorn,

They could not brook the house of prayer
Their negligence should mourn.

The table of the Lord they sought
Each festival of love ;

Their gifts — but most then hearts — they brought,
To yield to God above.

They heard with humble thankfulness
What Christ for them achieved ;

Our Fathers heard in ancient days,

And, simply taught, believed.

They lived in unity and peace,

No party discord knew ;

Like angel-bands in holiness,

And ready service too.

Yet, in the horn* of trial brave,

When persecution came,

They fought the fight their Church to save,

And dared the martyr’s flame.

SLAITHWAITE CHUECH ANNALS.

And since tlie same blest truth is ours,
For which they fought and bled,
And the same Holy Spirit pours,

His unction on our head ;

Since the same blest communion joins
Our hearts which blended theirs,
The same sweet service still combines
Our common wants and prayers ;

Why should we leave the holy ways
Our wise forefathers trod.

Or, in these cold degenerate days,
Forsake the Church of God !

C. A. H.

THE REVEREND ROBERT MEEKE,

1685 to 1724.

It required no small courage and devotedness to
undertake a Cure, for which the only certain provision
was four shillings per annum ; as appears not only from
the parliamentary survey already quoted, but also irom
the terriers delivered in 1688 and 1716. There were,
as now, small payments made by the inhabitants of the
townships, at the rate of one shilling and sixpence
each sitting, and these cannot have amounted to more
than twenty pounds per annum when Mr. Meeke
entered upon his charge. Being possessed of some
private means, and continuing a single man, of simple
habits, he was enabled to undertake and continue in
the Cure for nearly forty years. His diary, already
referred to, from May, 1689, to September, 1694, is
very minute and circumstantial, and will be the prin¬
cipal source of information respecting him and his
ministry. His dues seem to have been collected with
difficulty, “ trading being bad ;** and he receives with
some surprise and gratitude the present of a few
potatoes from an aged woman ; thankful, nevertheless,
that he is independent of such contributions.

SLAITII WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

I have only recently been able to arrive at accurate
information as to the parentage of Robert Meeke. In his
diary, Dec. 30th, 1693, he says, “ This day begins my
thirty and eighth year, being born on Tuesday, the
30th of December, 1056, between three and four in
the afternoon, in Salford, near Manchester and on
the cover of one of the books bequeathed by him to
the succeeding Curates, is a curious memorandum
scratched, which gave me the first clue to his connec¬
tion with an eminent divine, who proves to be his
father, “ Pack this book in the first books that
are sent to Will. Schelthorne, in Manchester, for Mr.
Meeke, Minister of Salford Chapel.” From various
sources, I learn, William Meeke (whether originally
in episcopal orders does not appear) was the Parochial
Minister of the above Chapel, which had been recently
erected and endowed by Humphrey Booth, when the
parliamentary sequestration was made in 1650. Mr.
Meeke conformed to the Presbyterian Classis, and
was a distinguished Member of the Synod, on its
establishment during the Civil War; but suffered
persecution from the Independents, when they became
powerful under Oliver Cromwell. The Chapel stood
on the Bridge between Manchester and Salford.
Meeke was imprisoned at Liverpool, with other
Ministers, in 1651, upon suspicion of some corres¬
pondence with the King in his going through the
country. This was at the time when the gallant Earl
of Derby died as a martyr for his loyalty. Having
been at length set at liberty, William Meeke retained

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

the pulpit in Salford until 1658, when he died. A
dispute then arose, which was finally terminated by
the Eestoration of the Monarchy and the Episcopal
Church, in 1660. This venerable divine I find
described in Newcome’s Memoirs, as “Sincere Meeke,”
and that “as a choice preacher, as it is said of Absolom’s
body, it might of him, that none was so much to be
praised for beauty as he.” In his diary, September
1, 1692, Eobert Meeke describes a visit to Elam-
borough, to see his father’s relatives ; and “ went to
Skiplev to see the tenant who liveth where my father
was born, it is an old house, much out of repair, and
very mean. I went to see my father’s study. I
thank God I have one much more convenient and
pleasant. I desire to be thankful and humble, for my
parentage is of an inferior rank, but I hope, and as I
hear, of a religious family, which is better than gen¬
tility and greatness. My father was born in a very
mean house, my mother in a courtly hall : thus the
Lord is pleased to make high and low, noble and
ignoble, equal, and both one. I am a branch of
yeomanry by my father, of gentility by my mother.
Lord, grant me true nobility, virtue, and grace, above
my mother’s blood ; meekness and humility according
to my father’s name.” He speaks of receiving rent
from the tenant, and much kindness from relatives at
Elamborough. I should have had no difficulty in
inferring that his father here alluded to was the Eev.
William Meeke, of Salford, where Eobert was con¬
fessedly born, although that event took place only two

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

years before the death of the former divine ; but in
some of the books I found “Will. Meeke, eldest son of
William Meeke,” and in the diary a frequent mention of
a Billy Meeke, a fatherless boy, whom Eobert seems
to have adopted. I have recently obtained the certifi¬
cate of Eoberfc’s birth and baptism (see appendix), and
onclude that William Meeke the younger was an elder
brother of Eobert, and that on his death the books
reverted to him, with the family estate, and the care of
the widow and family.

June 4, 1694. — He speaks of himself as of small
stature, and a shy disposition ; and that such was his
father’s temper, and which occasioned him to marry
late in life, and the son to forego altogether the charms
of the married state. He also speaks of the pious coun¬
sels of his mother, and her death in 1 693. It is manifest
that he sprung from godly parents, of great respect¬
ability of character; and I presume that his mother’s
relatives, one of whom of the name of Brooksbank,
resided at Linthwaite Hall, were chiefly settled in the
neighbourhood of Manchester.

Eobert Meeke was about twenty-nine years of age
when he came to Slaithwaite, in 1685. He was a
moderate English churchman, and the library which he
bequeathed to his successors, Curates of Slaithwaite,
many of the books having belonged to the elder William
Meeke, prove both of them to have been learned men
and sound divines ; as well by the choice of authors as
the manuscript notes on the margin of not a few.

Eobert Meeke was lodged from 1689 to 1724 at the
Green, Hilltop, in Slaithwaite, a house still existing in

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

good repair, with his cousin iEneas Bothomley, who
was a woolstapler. The lintel stone still bearing the
inscription JE. S. B., 1685. He had previously lodged
at Waterside. His study is still pointed out, but there
are few or no other traditions respecting him. He
left a copy of Poole’s Annotations, and various manu¬
scripts, to be kept continually at that house, which was
the case, until the decease of the last member of the
Bothomley family about fifty years ago, when they were
dispersed ; and only the diary, to which such frequent
reference will be made, has been recovered. This
occurred to myself in the year 1848, when I found it
opportunely in the possession of the late Mrs. Hannah
Cock, of Cophill ; by whose husband it has been bought
at the sale referred to. This interesting document
shews that he was a studious and pious man; a laborious
and prayerful preacher. He says, “ Lord, hear the
prayers put up unto Thee this day and succeed Thy
Word.” He also catechized publicly in the church,
and introduced the frequent administration of the
Lord’s Supper, not without some opposition. •* Some
think it will put the town to much charge, and were
against it.” This murmuring may have led Mr. Meeke
to bequeath nine pounds, the interest to be applied to
buy bread and wine for the communion. The Vicar
of Huddersfield came in Easter week to administer the
sacrament and receive his dues. Wine, in later times,
was furnished by the Parish Churches of Huddersfield
and Almondbury, but which has long ceased.

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

We have no account of his ordination as Deacon ;
but in September, 1689, he was ordained Priest at
York, and received the sacrament. He says “ I thought
the Bishop was very solemn and serious in the office
of ordination, Lord, hear the prayers of the church
for us, and give us grace to mind the duties which were
told us of.” His views of Baptism may be gathered
from the following extract : — “ Oct. 21. I went to Mr.
Bamsbotham’s (at Huddersfield), to dinner, his daughter
being baptised, for whom I stood as a witness and
sponsor, being requested by the father ; this is the
first that I am engaged for, and grant the child may
have Thy grace, renewing and regenerating, that the
benefits of baptism may be conferred.” He appears
to have been ingenious, for he says “ I have some skill
in tempering clocks ; I wish I had wisdom to redeem
time.” This may refer to frequent confessions of
sloth, and other occasional indulgences owing to
the customs of the people, at funerals especially, which
he deplores, and which are followed by expressions of
deep humiliation and repentance. His diary throws
much light on the state of things, public and private, and
shews that the general character of the population has
undergone very little change since his time.

It is to be regretted that his previous and subse¬
quent diaries have perished ; with the year 1689 our
direct and minute acquaintance with him ceases.
With it terminates all account of Mr. Meeke, except
his will ; leaving twenty-five years of his life blank.
A few extracts will prove interesting.

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

Alluding to the feast or wake (St. James’s day), he
says, “July 25, 1689. To-day is our doings at
Sleighthwaite. 28. There was to-day as great a con¬
gregation as I have seen, but I am afraid many came
more to see than hear; more for pleasure and curiosity
than anything else ; but, Lord, if thou be pleased to do
them good by my labours, blessed be thy name ; thou
didst help me in my work of preaching this afternoon
above my desert.” August 5, “ My heart, O Lord,
is still impure, O create in me a humble, and contrite,
a holy and a clean heart, let not sin reign lest it bring
my ruin. O Lord, by thy Providence about me, I am
convinced that thou art Omniscient and Omnipresent,
pure and holy, but merciful, pardoning iniquity, trans¬
gression and sin.”

Mr. Meeke’s views of Nonconformity may be
gathered from the following: — “August 31, 1694.
Went to see a new Chapel at Tintwistle, which is
built by a Nonconformist, who is tabled at my Aunt’s.
There are since the toleration many Chapels builded.
Lord grant it may be for the good of souls. Alre all
preach the same doctrine, pray for the same things.
All the difference consists in garments, gestures and
words ; and yet that difference breedeth heats, discus¬
sion, division, prejudice, jealousies, judging and coldness
of Charity, and Christian affection among friends. I
am afraid this is the effect of such separated Meetings
and different modes of worship, Lord, &c.”

“Nov. 1693. It is now wet and moist weather
again, thick and foggy. The vapours arising from the

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

earth hinder the light of the sun — and so, my sinful
corruptions, arising in my heart, might justly deprive
me of Thy shining countenance. O Lord, sanctify the
circumstances which oftentimes follow my offences,
and lead me to a sincere repentance thereby.” “ May
1694. Met with an old acquaintance, a Noncon¬
formist, who told me there was an ordination of
Ministers at Mr. Thorp’s of Hopton. There is much
difference among learned men about ordination. Some
are for Bishops, some for Presbyters, some for the
Congregation and Lay Elders. Lord, promote true
religion by men of thine own sending, and by what
hands thou pleasest, in thine own time. Grant a greater
union in judgment among learned, and in practice
among pious and religious men ”

Mr. Meeke’s labours in Slaithwaite may not have
been very successful, hut they were very diligent and
exemplary. He says, July 1694 — “Discoursed about
an hour with a good old woman. I find it convenient,
on several accounts, to be familiar with, and to visit
my chappelrie. Lord, give me all wisdom and prudence
in all places to behave myself as I ought.”

In 1718, Mr. Meeke obtained £200, Queen Anne’s
Bounty for the living of Slaithwaite, to meet Benefac¬
tions of £100 each from Sir Arthur Kaye, Bart., and
"William Walker, Esq., of Wakefield; and with these
sums that part of the estate at Sowood in Stainland,
Parish of Halifax, was purchased and settled on the
Curacy, which still forms its chief endowment. At
the same time the other portion of the same estate

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

was bought by Mr. Meeke, for his own use, for £100,
and was conveyed by him in 1721 to trustees, as an
endowment for the Slaithwaite Parochial School, which
appears to have existed under Mr. Meeke’s superin¬
tendence for thirty years before, as several memor¬
andums in his diary, shewing acts of supervision and
authority indicate, in connection ‘‘with the town men.”

This trust he confirmed by his will in 1724. In
1719, the Chapel was rebuilt and enlarged hy his
exertions, and his remains repose within the sacred
walls and near the place of the Holy Table ; his
tombstone, an upright slab, still existing at the East-
end of the enclosed site of the Old Chapel, reads
thus — “Nere this place is interred the body of Mr.
Robert Meeke, who was Curate of this Chapel 39 years
and 5 months, to ye satisfaction of his auditors : he
left £4 per An. to ye School of Slaightwaite for teaching
10 poor children, and ye interest of £9 for Bread and
Wine, and 133 Books for the succeeding Curates.
He departed this life May 31st, A.D. 1724, in the 67
year of his age.”

The School which he thus founded continues to this
day a more permanent monument of his interest in
the highest good of his people. The provisions of the
deed of endowment and the will are somewhat con¬
flicting, but in all respects shew a firm attachment to
the pure doctrine and discipline of our Church ; and
the preamble of his will thus expresses his faith.

“ In the name of Grod, Amen, this 20 day of March
in the year of our Lord 172-1, I, Robert Meeke, of

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Slaighthwaite, Curate, in the Parish of Huddersfield,
in the West-Hiding of the County of York, being in
good health and understanding and memory, blessed
be my God, do make this my last will and testament
in manner and form following: — First, I commend my
spirit into the hands of God my heavenly Father,
firmly and comfortably hoping to be blessed imme¬
diately after my departure throw faith in Jesus Christ,
my .Redeemer, and I leave my body to be buried in a
decent and Christian manner, looking for a glorious
resurrection of the same, from a vile and corruptible
to an incorruptible and glorious estate, thanks be to
God who giveth me the victory over sin, death and
the grave through Jesus Christ my Lord.” (See
Appendix, No. I.)

A Stone Font still remains in the Church, bearing
the inscription, K.M. 1721 ; and the lintel of the prin¬
cipal entrance of the Old Church, a«s rebuilt by Mr.
Meeke, bearing the date 1 7 1 9, has stood as the door¬
way of the Minister’s garden ever since the new Chapel
was built in 1789.

Mr. Meeke’s bequest for wine was included in the
purchase of the School estate at Sowerbv, in 1731,
and the Trustees still pay nine shillings per annum to
the Chapelwarden for this purpose. He also left five
pounds to make “ an easier and shorter way to the
burying place.”

This burial place, being detached from the Chapel,
is a curious illustration of the History of England.
In the oldest Register of Burials is a Memorandum

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

in Mr. Meeke’s handwriting — “Prom this time (1684)
there was no person buried at Slackthwaite, except
one or two; until October 13, 1688, for the Yicar
commanded the Corps to be brought to Huddersfield.
But the Chappelrie presented a petition to the Con¬
sistory Court of York, and the Dean and Chapter
( Sede Vacante ) granted this following License to bury
in ye Chappell of Slackthwaite, or in an adjacent
Caemeterie being freely given by the Bight Worship-
full Sir John Kaye, and decently repaired by ye
Chappelrie for that purpose.’* The license does not
follow, but it is curious that this date, when it is said
the See of York was vacant, agrees with the time, as
related by Lord Macaulay, when King J ames II. kept
the Archiepiscopal See vacant, in order to put in a
Papist. Mr. Meeke’s journal also illustrates the
National History in many other particulars: shewing
that he carefully kept all the public days of thanks¬
giving or humiliation set forth by authority ; and seems
always to have been a loyal subject and a strict Con¬
formist, though liberal iu his views and charitable in
his practice.

On a review we cannot but observe that Slaithwaite
must have been much indebted to the residence of
such a man for forty years. Coming at first, with
scarcely any remuneration, and exercising charity far
beyond the means at his disposal for that purpose.
Intelligent and kind, he appears to have been ready at
all times and hours to visit his parishioners, and even
far beyond — for I find records of journeys to baptize

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

as far as Outlane on the one hand, and Crosland on
the other, a distance of four miles each way. He
frequently preached at Huddersfield and other churches ;
and the records of his benevolent exertions induce us
to believe that he bore the fruits of temperance, as well
as other virtues, in old age.

The permanent provision for a settled Ministry was
obtained by his exertions ; and consequently the suc¬
cession of resident Curates secured. He provided for
their learning by the bequest of his Library. He
either originated or confirmed the School of Slaith-
waite, which has been so valuable a provision for the
instruction of youth. His endowment was augmented
by the bequests of his friends Thomas and William
Walker and Michael Anely; and the second Deed
provides for a School of Good Literature ; and the
Catechism contained in the Liturgy of the Church of
England. The School was carried on as nearly as
possible to the primitive foundation, upon the original
site of the Free School, rebuilt in 1744, and again in
1842 — and adjoining the old Chapel, where Mr.
Meeke’s remains repose — until the completion of a
New Scheme in 1859, for its management, obtained
by the present Trustees, sanctioned by the Commis¬
sioners of Public Charities and the County Court,
according to the Act of 1853. This Scheme retains
all the purposes of a Free School for children, designed
by Mr. Meeke and the other benefactors, whilst under
the name of “Meeke and Walker’s Educational Insti¬
tution,” it provides for the adult population, male and

REV. ROBERT MEEKE.

female Evening Classes, for their instruction in useful
learning and religious education ; and I trust it may
continue for many generations as “ a School of good
literature,” and the nursery of every Christian virtue.

A few of Mr. Meeke’s Sermons remain, preserved
by the late Eev. John Murgatroyd, Master of the
School from 1738 to 1786, and resident in Slaith waite
until his death in 1806. The manuscripts of this
gentleman, occupying a space of seventy years, pre¬
sented to me by his niece, the late Miss Hannah
Mellor, form an important addition to those of Mr.
Meeke.

These Sermons are very neatly written, and are
sound in doctrine and practical in their application,
on the Arminian, rather than Calvinistic hypothesis ;
occasional notes exhibit considerable learning. In
the Introduction to a Sermon upon Ephesians ii. 19,
we read — “ In this and the other Epistles of St. Paul,
he principally insisteth upon three things : Articles of
Eaitli; the benefits we receive by Christ; and the
Duties of a Christian. Under the benefits which we
receive by Christ are comprehended the great difference
or differences between sinners converted by true
repentance unto G-od, reconciled by faith in Christ
Jesus, and there is a vast difference, and a very great
unlikeness, betwixt these and unconverted, unbelieving
sinners.”

This VAST AND ESSENTIAL DIEEERENCE is what we
must ever bear in mind, and its maintenance is the espe¬
cial characteristic of the series of holy men, who have

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

laboured bere for so many generations. Other men
have laboured and we have entered into their labours.
“ Whose faith let us follow, considering the end of
their conversation : Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
and to-day, and for ever.” Heb. xiii. 7, 8.

March 5th, 1863.

As the Archbishops of York and Bishops of Ripon will be
frequently referred to, I add the following list from the time of
the Revolution :

Akchbishops of Yoke : —

Thomas Lamplugh . 1688.

John Sharp . 1691.

Sir William Davies . 1713.

Launcelot Blackburn . 1724r.

Thomas Herring . 1742.

Matthew Hutton . 1747.

John Gilbert . . 1757.

Robert Drummond . . . 1761.

William Markham . 1777.

Hon. E. Yenables Yernon Harcourt 1808.

Thomas Musgrave . 1847.

Charles Thomas Longley . 1860.

William Thompson . .....1863.

Bishops of Ripon : —

Charles Thomas Longley . 1836.

Robert Bickersteth . ...1857.

APPENDIX No. I.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF LECTURE I.

DOMESDAY BOOK.

Dr. Whitaker, in his edition of Thoresby’s “ Leodis and
Elmete,” 1816, page 348, says : —

“ The G-udlacsarc of Domesday is now contracted to Goldcar ;
but it must have been written Gudlacscar. The innumerable
errors in the spelling of local names, which prevail throughout
the record, can only be accounted for by supposing that Nor¬
man Scribes were employed, who, with the pitiful affectation
which prevails among their countrymen to this day, carelessly
or purposely falsify English names.”

LINGARDS AND LINTHWAITE

Are not mentioned in Domesday Survey, which proves them to
have been separated from some of the more ancient manors at a later
period. Those mentioned (in Almondbury parish) are Almanberie,
Ferleia (Farnley), Hanleia (Honley), Meltham Cola, and Crop¬
land. p. 327.

In Huddersfield parish, also, we have only Odersfeldt, Bradleia,
Gudlacsarc, Combi (Quarmby), and Lilia (Lindley). No mention
of Slaithwaite or other townships.

I find the following subsequent notices : —

In Parliamentary Writs, 1316, Edw. II, are named,

J ohn Tyas, Slaighe waite.

Richard Tyas, Farnley.

Among the possessions of the Earl of Lancaster are, Lingarthys,
Lepton, Holm, iii vill. Co. Lancast.

Dr. Walker informs me that John and Richard Tyas before
named, were owners of the towns under the Earl of Lancaster,
just before the breaking out of the civil war between the Houses
of York and Lancaster ; when the Earl was executed, Henry
Tyas was condemned and executed. No mention of John or
Richard Tyas. The Beaumonts took no active part. The Elands
lost estates.

The Manor of Lingthwaite belonged to the Duke of Lancaster
in 1361, as part of the Honor of Pontefract.

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Leodis and Elinete, p. 331, under Famley Tyas, parish of
Almondbury, says : —

“ A° Henry VIII. was a law- suit for the Manor of Slaithwaite,
which from the time of John de Tyas had accompanied
Woodsome, between Charles Yarburgh and Arthur Kaye,
when both parties claimed, as heirs of the body of John
Tyas the Younger (Hopkinson’s Pedigrees). It seems evident
that after the death of Franco Tyas, the estates passed to the
descendants of an heir female, several generations higher up
in the line, and that the grant of Franco Tyas to Fitton was
merely in trust for some intent not expressed.”

In Valor Ecclesiasticus, Henry VIII. time,

“ Payments to the Chantrey of St. Mary’s, York, inter alia, is
the following :

‘Pent in Stainland, Slaghwhaite, Rastrick, (Hudd. Is. 8d.)’

“ From Rental of the Manor of Almondbury, in Elizabeth’s
time :

‘ Waterfarms in Slaeghwet, iiijd.’ (Dr. Walker.)

From Lawton’s Collections relative to the West-Riding of
Y ork, (supplied to me by the Rev. Christopher Alderson, Rector of
Kirkheaton) I add the following : —

“ Slaithwaite (Parish of Huddersfield, Perpetual Curacy),
Agbrigg, Wapentake upper division. Population, 2,892 (in
1831). Patron, the Vicar of Huddersfield.”

From the Parliamentary Survey made 1651, Vol. xviii, p. 305 : —

“ Four miles from Huddersfield ; way bad. No minister. No
maintenance save 4s. per annum. Recommended to be made
a parish, and Linfitt, in the parish of Almondbury, to be
added thereto.”

From the Notitia Parochialis or returns made by Incumbents of
Livings to queries sent them by a divine whose name is now
unknown, in 1705 : —

“ An Ancient Chapel being much decayed, was repaired and
enlarged at the charge of John Kaye, Esq., and his tenants, and
other neighbouring inhabitants, in 1593. No endowment, but
contributions something better than £20 per annum ; a gift of
4s. yearly, left by the will of one — Eastwood, of the Binn, in
Marsden. It is charged on the Binn Land, and now paid by
Samuel Haigh, Widow Kaye, and James Hirst, the occupiers.”

Subsequent notices by Lawton : —

“ Augmented in 1718 with £200 to meet benefactions of £200
from Sir Arthur Kaye, Bart., and William Walker, Esq.,
and in 1776 with £200, and in 1792 with £200 by lot.”

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF LECTURE I. 41

“ 30th April, 1765. Faculty to erect a gallery.”

“ 27th August, 1787. Faculty granted to re-build the chapel.”

“ 4th August, 1789. The chapel and chapel yard were conse¬
crated.”

“ No Glebe house.”

“The register books commence in 1684. Defective in some
parts, but entered at Huddersfield.”

“ Charity Free School founded by the Rev. Robert Meeke, by
deed 21st June, 1721. Income of 18a. 2r. I7p. of land, after
paying 9s. per annum for bread and wine for Sacrament on
Whit Sunday. Twenty free scholars are taught reading,
writing, and arithmetic. The Curate is declared by the deed
not to be eligible as schoolmaster.” Vide 19th Charities
Report, page 548. Post town, Huddersfield not noticed
by Torre.

Rev. Robert Meeke.

The original trust deed of Slaith waite Free School is not now
to be found, but the following abstract is in the possession of the
Trustees : —

“June 23rd, 1721. Rev. Robert Meek invested the said trust
in iEneas Bottomley, James Bamforth, Thomas Shaw, and
Edmund Mellor, their heirs and assigns, ye survivors and
survivor of them, and his heirs after the said Mr. Meek’s
death, to the use of the said iEneas Bottomley, &c., with
intent and purpose that they, and the last survivor of them
shall from the clear yearly rent of the said premises, pay to
such schoolmaster of Slaightwaite as by the said trustees or the
major part of them shall for ever be elected (not being the
Curate of Slaighth waite), for yearly, half-yearly, and
quarterly teaching such a number of poor children within the
Chapelry of Slaighth waite as the said trustees shall think fit,
in reading, writing, and arithmetic ; which number of chil¬
dren are to be elected and named by the Curate, Chapel-
warden, and Overseer of the Poor of Slaighth waite for the
time being, for ever : two to be chosen from Golcar, two
from Linth waite, two from Lingards. and four from Slaigh¬
th waite. The number of children to oe increased or lessened
at the discretion of the Trustees for the time being ; such
Trustees are to pay ye clear remainder of the yearly rent and
profits of the premises, if any be, to such Schoolmaster (not
being the Curate of Slaighthwaite), as a reward for his pains.
And if there be a vacancy or no such Schoolmaster at
Slaighthwaite, then the Trustees for the time being shall be
accountable to pay over the rents of the premises that shall
become payable and due during any such vacancy unto the

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Curate, Chapelwarden, and Overseer of the Poor for the
time being, for them to pay over to the succeeding master,
and the like order to be ever observed. And when there
shall be but two Trustees living, then the two surviving
Trustees shall choose to themselves three more Trustees, to
make the number five, out of such principal inhabitants of
Slaighthwaite, as they shall think fit, of which number the
Curate of Slaighthwaite for the time being to be always one.
Of intent and purpose that such surviving Trustees shall con¬
vey to themselves and new elected Trustees, &c.”

The said Mr. Meeke departed this life at Slaighthwaite, 31st
May, 1724. The following is a copy of his Will, taken from the
official copy with probate in the possession of the Trustees : —

“ In the name* of God, Amen !— this 20th day of March, in the
year of our Lord 1724, I, Robert Meek, of Slaighthwaite,
Curate, in the parish of Huddersfield, and the West Riding
of the County of York, being in good health and under¬
standing and memory, blessed be my God, do make this my
last Will and Testament in manner and form following : —
First, I commend my spirit into the hands of God my
Heavenly Father, firmly and comfortably hoping to be blessed
immediately after my departure, throw faith in Jesus Christ
my Redeemer ; and I leave my body to be buried in a decent
and Christian manner, looking for a glorious resurrection of
the same from a vile and corruptible to an incorruptible and
glorious estate, thanks be to God who giveth me the victory
over sin, death, and the grave, through Jesus Christ my
Lord. — As for my worldly estate which it hath pleased God
to bestow upon me, and to preserve for and unto me until
this day, I give and bequeath as folio weth : — Imprimis : I
give and bequeathe unto the Schoole and the use and livelihood
of the Schoolmaster in Sleighwaite, who is not the Curate or
Minister of Sleighwaite aforesaid, nor of any other place
elsewhere, that he may attend the duties of the School without
any hindrance, and may have time for necessary reading and
lawful diversion. I give and bequeath to him a parcell of
land in Far Sowood, in Stainland, in the county aforesaid,
now in the possession of Henry Haigh, of Sowood aforesaid,
which said land I nave already conveyed by deeds sealed and
signed by my own hand before sufficient witnesses, into the
hands of faithful feoffees or Trustees for the use aforesaid :
and if there be no Master my will and desire is that the
profits of the land aforesaid be given to the poor within the
chappellrie of Slaighthwaite, to be distributed in Bibles, New
Testaments, and Common Prayer-books, according to the
discretion of the Warden, the Minister, and three or four
understanding men belonging to the chappell aforesaid. If

MR. MEEKE’S WILL.

the occasional profits be thought too much for Bibles, &c ,
my will is that the feoffees intrusted do bestow it in buying
warm and decent wearing cloaths for some of the poorer
children aforesaid. Item, my books I leave to be sold, except
those of which I have left a catalogue in the hands of my
Executor, which I give to the Minister of Sleighthwaite for
the time being, and some of them to the particular friends
mentioned in the catalogue aforesaid ; the price of the books
sold I give to the poor of the Chappelry of Sleighthwaite and
Linthwaite, and Lingarths, and that part of Golcar on this
side the brook under Share-hill, to be divided and distributed
by some impartial and prudent men in the said Chappelry as
they can, according as the several hamlets pay to the chappell
aforesaid. Item : I give twenty pounds to my brother Ralph
Ardern, in Newton, near Manchester, in Lancashire. Item :
I give to my sister Martha's son, now an apprentice in Man¬
chester, ten pounds, and to her daughter ten pounds, but the
benefits or interest of the twenty pounds aforesaid I give to
my sister Martha during her natural life, and after her
death, the money to her son and daughter.

Item : I give to my sister Hall and her daughter, thirty
pounds, Item : to Brother Erooksbank and my sister five
pounds betwixt them. Item : to Mr. Hilton, his wife and
two children, twenty shillings a-piece. Item : to my land¬
lord ./Eneas Bothomley, fifty shillings ; and to my landlady,
his wife, also fifty shillings ; to their children, Deborah,
Richard, vEneas, and Abigail, twenty pounds to be divided
equally amongst them ; to the other three children, Elizabeth
the wife of James Walk, of Thirstland, in the parish of
Burton, to Martha and James, in Manchester, forty shillings
a-piece. Item : to Mr. James Lightbourn and his wife and
sister Elizabeth, five shillings a-piece. Item : to Jonas
Walk’s children, my landlady’s grandchildren, twenty shillings
a-piece ; to the servants in my landlady’s house at my decease,
ten shillings among them. Item : to Joshua Woodhead
twenty shillings. Item : I give all the cups in the trunk,
$nd two salts and three spoons to Deborah and Abigail
Bothomley, and all the napkins with the trunk ; also to my
landlady the bottle seller in my closett Item : I give the
two volumes of Pool’s English Annotations to the use of the
family, and to whomsoever resideth at Hilltop, in Sleighth¬
waite, and not to be lent abroad lest they be sullied and
spoiled. Item : with these books I give the two reading
desks in my closett. Item : to Edmund Bothomley I give
the safe at my closett door and all my notes and my Father’s
diary, and my own, being in several paper books, to be perused
if he please, or else to be burnt. Item : to Edmund the
booksafe in his chamber. Item : the two gold rings I give to

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Deborah and Abigail aforesaid ; the two little boxes with
small monies I give to Elizabeth and Martha, the daughters
of Jonas Walker. As for other things too tedious to name,
of any worth, I leave to my after-named Executor, to be
kept for himself or given as he pleaseth. Item : I give nine
pounds to be placed in good hands, and the interest to be paid
yearly to buy wine for the Communion. Item : I give five
pounds to make an easier and shorter way to the burying
place. Item : I give to my landlady the reading glass and
its case. Item : to my brother Ralph Ardeme my steel
tobacco box. Item : to Abigail Bothomley I give my knife
and fork in my pocket, and the old fashioned knife and case.
And lastly, I appoint Edmund Bothomley my Executor, to
pay my funeral expenses, my debts, the legacies aforesaid,
and hereunto I set my hand and seal the day and year above
said,

“ ROBERT MEEKE.”

“ Signed, sealed, and declared, the contents of this whole sheet
to be my last will and testament, in the presence of us,

“ Thos. Shaw, Edmund Mellor, Daniel Eagland.”

Mr. Meeke’s Birth and Baptism.

Extract from the Register of the Cathedral (late Collegiate)
Church of Manchester : —

“ Births in December, 1656 :

30. Robert, sonn to Mr. William Meeke of Salford, Clerke,
baptized at Salford Chappell the ffourth day of January one
thousand six hundred ffiftie and six.”

The ordinary reader may perhaps be puzzled by these dates,
which are old style, when the year ended on the 25th March ;
consequently J anuary came after December.

LECTUKE II.

The Rev. John Sutolieee, Incumbent, 1724-27 —
Rev. Joseph Thorns, Incumbent, 1727 to 1760 —
Rev. John Murgatroyd, Schoolmaster, 1738 to
1786, Occasional Minister to 1806.

Although the matter to be laid before you, in this
lecture, may not be of the same diversified character
a3 that contained in the introductory address, and the
account of the Rev. Robert Meeke, yet it will be
found to throw light on a part of our religious history
of which, perhaps, the least is popularly known ; and
when the state of religion and morals was the
lowest of all the period to which our records refer.
There remained, however, some of the worthies who
were contemporary with Mr. Meeke ; among whom
was Mr. Edmund Bothomley, son of iEneas Botliom-
ley, Mr. Meeke’s host at Hilltop, and continuing to
reside there. The record of his burial, in the hand¬
writing of Mr. Murgatroyd, is, March 3rd, 1762 : —

“ Mr. Edmund Bothomley, Hilltop, Slaith waite, a
thorough honest peaceable man, and good Christian.
In a word, one of the usefullest persons in his time
amongst his neighbours.”

Mr. Meeke was succeeded by

The Rev. John Sutclieee,
respecting whom I have not been able to collect any
information, except that the Rev. Thomas Sutcliffe, late

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Incumbent of Heptonstall, informed me some years
ago that he was a relative.

The record of his burial is as follows : —

“ 1727, Ap. 8. Mr. Jno. Sutcliffe, Curate of
Sl-ghwh Chap.”

In the third volume of Mr. Murgatroyd’s manu¬
scripts I find, however, “ An Elegy on the death of the
Kev. John Sutcliffe, Curate of Slaithwaite, who died
April 4th, 1727, by Thomas Boulton, Schoolmaster of
Slaithwaite,” of which the following verse is a
specimen : —

Since Sutcliffe, pious Sutcliffe’s gone,

His rigid fate I must bemoan ;

I’ll warble forth his obsequies,

And with lamenting fill the skies ;

Nor shall I much adorn my sense
Of grief, with painted eloquence ;

But such as sua sponte flows

Out of a heart full fraught with woes.

What cross malignant star hath gained
The sceptre and supreme command ;

Throughout the bright ethereal court,

With dust and ashes thus to sport ;

Which laughs, while peals of sorrow ring,

Making an autumn of a spring ;

Cutting the choicest blossoms down,

For Sutcliffe, pious Sutcliffe’s gone !

And so, through six stanzas of equal length, in which
the birds, the fishes, the beasts, the earth, and finally
Atrophos, are invoked to lament for “ Pious Sutcliffe:”
but the poem is left unfinished. It certainly exhibits
the character of the writer, rather than the subject,

EE VS. JNO. SUTCLIFFE & JOSEPH THOENS. 47

who, at all events, was probably an amiable man, to
have secured the respect of Mr. Boulton, who has also
left, in manuscript, a paraphrase on the Book of
Ecclesiastes, which, if original, shews that he was a
man of some learning, taste, and piety. Mr.
Sutcliffe was followed by

The Bev. Joseph Thorns, 1727 to 1760.
Nothing has been gathered respecting this gentleman’s
parentage and education. I possess a number of his
sermons, preserved by the Bev. J ohn Murgatroyd, and
who seems to have re-written and preached many of
them. Their style is that of a scholar and a gentleman,
and some having been preached in Cambridgeshire,
apparently during a visit there, I am led to conjecture
that Mr. Thorns may have been a native of that
county, and probably a Graduate at Cambridge. One
of the sermons bears the date “ Dridlington (Norfolk)
Nov. 27, 1726,” which may be another indication that
Mr. Thorns came from the Eastern Counties.

His doctrine is not very distinct ; the subjects being
chiefly practical or rational. He however states in one
on Phil. iii. 10, “ Eirst, by our Saviour’s resurrection
we are assured that a full, perfect, and sufficient
sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction was made for the
sins of the whole world. That the aids of God’s holy
spirit are vouchsafed to us, in order to help us forward
in the ways of holiness and virtue, and to assist us in
our engagements with the devil and all his works, the
pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the
sinful lusts of the flesh.”

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

The former sermon is also inscribed “ Slaighwaite,
June ye 10th, 1727, at the funeral of J. Binns, of
Ealden worth from which I conclude that Mr. Thorns
was appointed soon after the death of Mr. Sutcliffe,
which took place April 4th preceding. The entries of
burials and baptisms are in a different hand, probably
that of Mr. Boulton, until October 1st, 1727, when
seemingly Mr. Thorns came to reside ; and his hand¬
writing continues, without intermission, until his death
in 1760. Mr. Thorns was evidently, therefore, a
resident minister, during the whole thirty-three years
of his incumbency. In 1731, during his time, the
second Deed of Endowment of the Eree School was
executed, but his name does not appear. The school-
house was rebuilt in 1744, but chiefly by the exertions
of Mr. Murgatroyd. The trust deeds of the school
were with much difficulty renewed in 1749, and Mr.
Thorns appears as one of the trustees. Mr. Murgat¬
royd then notes “ That tedious affair about renewing
Mr. Meeke’s trust ended April 14th, Saturday, 1750.”
There is no monument, stone, or memorial of him
remaining, but in Mr. Murgatroyd’ a journal is the
following memorandum : — “ The Bev. Mr. Thorns
died, 3 o’clock, p.m., Sep. 13th, 1760. I saw him die.”

With reference to Mr. Thorns’ character, we have
a slight indication in a note of Mr. Murgatroyd, on
the origin of the name of Slaigh waite. <c Now the
witty, prickly Mr. Thorns (as some may epithet him),
X^observe always spells it thus — Slaighwaite.” There
is a further indication in a curious document, more

REV. JOSEPH THORNS.

than one copy of which I have seen ; the one before me
was kindly lent by Miss Roberts, of Broad Oak, daughter
of the late Mr. James Roberts, one of the founders of
Linthwaite Church. It is a presentation of Mr.
Thorns, by Mr. John Eagland, the chapel war den of
Slaith waite, to Dr. Pyle, x\rch deacon of York, June
27, 1758. It is difficult at this distance of time to
judge of the merits of a dispute, which seems to have
arisen between the minister and chapelwarden ; but
Mr. Eagland complains that Mr. Thorns had threatened
to present him, for not presenting the landlords in
Slaith waite for selling ale on Sundays ; and in his turn
presents the chapelwarden, newly chosen by Mr.
Thorns, and four other men, as common and notorious
profane cursers and swearers. He defends the land¬
lords, and their houses; and the singers who had
displeased Mr. Thorns, whom he impugns in no very
respectful terms. And making every deduction for the
temper of the complainant, the description, if correct,
is that of a very worldly character ; addicted to singular
dress, jockey cap, &c., and lowcompany, with “only a few
old sermons to repeat, which almost everybody knows.”

Tradition confirms the habits of Mr. Thorns to have
been those of a sportsman, but that he wras exceedingly
afraid of thunder and lightning, having experienced a
literal fulfilment of our Lord’s words, Luke xvii., 34,
when a man sleeping in the same bed was killed.
Hence, on one occasion, Mr. Thorns hastily left the
pulpit during a thunderstorm, and ran to hide himself in
his own cellar. This was part of the house in Backlane,

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

which appears to have been first obtained for the use of
the minister in Mr. Thorns’ time, from a memorandum
in Mr. Murgatroyd’s M.S., April 12th, 1744. This
house continued to be occupied by the succeeding
ministers, until the erection of that in which I live by
the Eev. Thomas Wilson, in 1 789. And was taken down
in 1849.

The Book of Homilies was set up in the church in
1758, during Mr. Thorns’ incumbency, and the
wardenship of John Eagland, before mentioned, who
resided at the Old Hall, or Manor House, in Slaith waite,
as his descendants still do. The Book is still chained
to an oak desk, having been removed from the old
chapel to the new one, on the erection of the latter.

Martha Wood, of Crimble, in Golcar, who died
there in December, 1839, aged 91 years, told me she
remembered saying her catechism to Mr. Thorns in
the aisle of the old chapel, during afternoon service ;
a practice I believe pursued by Mr. Wilson, and
revived by myself in 1840. She also remembered the
Eev. Henry Venn, Vicar of Huddersfield, and said
that he was “ the first Methody who came into this
country.”

On the whole, I think it is manifest that vital religion
was at a low ebb in Slaithwaite during the incumbency
of Mr. Thorns, as was generally the state throughout
the country ; but that the moral condition of
things here was a favourable picture of the kingdom
generally before the great revival of religion took
place. There was no actual unsoundness in Mr.

REV. JOHN MURGATROYD.

Thorns’ discourses, hut a lack of spirituality and
fervour. The last sermon on which there is any note
of time is dated June 1st, 1760, and it is a sermon
against the love of the world, and the love of riches,
often preached — fifteen times at Slaithwaite — but
seems to lack direction to the true riches which are
laid up in Christ ; and as the congregation cannot
generally rise above the tame of the minister, we may
fear that there was very little more than the formal
but Scriptural service which, in the worst cases, our
Church secures. Mr. Thorns’s burial is recorded on
the 13th September, 1760, in the handwriting of
The Rey. John Mtjrgatroyb.

This gentleman, who was in holy orders, and was
master of the .Free School from 1738 to 1786, and
resided in Lingards until his death in 1806, partly
supplied the interval between the death of Mr. Thorns,
and the residence of his successor, Mr. Furly. This
appears from a note of his in his journal, being a copy
of a letter to the Rev. Henry Venn, dated Jan.
20th, 1761 ; and the entry of sermons in the after
noons, at Slaithwaite, from Sep. 21st 1760, to Jan.
25th, 1761, being engaged at Almondbury in the
morning.

The present is a convenient opportunity of noticing
this worthy and laborious man, who, residing in this vil¬
lage for nearly seventy years, must have exercised con¬
siderable influence over the minds and manners of the
inhabitants. I have always heard him spoken of
with the greatest respect by those who recollected

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

him. I am indebted to his niece (already mentioned)
for his copious and laborious manuscript collections,
extracts and journals ; and for several other books,
which I reserve as a permanent addition to those
bequeathed by Mr. Meeke. These writings have
thrown much light upon many parts of our local
history. Those who recollect his person describe Mr.
Murgatroyd as a tall and vedferable looking man, who
wore a powdered wig and long cloak. His habits
were temperate and pious. He was a native of
Weathercock Told in the Parish of Halifax. His
father was William Murgatroyd, a blacksmith by
trade. His mother was daughter of William Tairbank
of Halifax. They were possessed of some property,
which still remains in the family of Mellor, into which
he married.

The first account which I have of him is contained
in the first Volume of his M.S. Collections ; it is a
testimonial addressed to a gentleman of the same
name, the Eev. Mr. Murgatroyd, of Kirkleatham, by
a Hester Metcalf, dated July 1737 ; and describes
him as “ Son of William Murgatroyd, late of Harley
Eoyd, but now of Halifax, eighteen years of age ;
desirous of being made a scholar, and having been
several years under the care of Mr. Wadsworth,
Schoolmaster, of Eishworth — a sedate, thinking and
promising boy ; who reads the following authors,
viz. — Greek Testament, Homer, Juvenal, and Persius,
with tolerable judgment, and makes exercises answer-
able thereto. His father is unable to send him to the

mv. JOHN MURGATROYD.

University, therefore humbly begs you to be so good
as to take him into your care, as being your usher, or
any other preferments you shall think proper. He is
a man of the times, for in the late election at York,
for Members for the County, he gave his vote for Sir
Rowland Winn and Squire Turner.” Another testi¬
monial appears from Dr. Legh, Vicar of Halifax,
addressed to the Trustees of Keighley School. Young
Murgatroyd was unsuccessful in both applications ;
but the testimony is very creditable.

The first notice relative to Slaithwaite School which
I find is the entry of some Scholars in 1738 : the first
being Thomas Boulton the younger, probably son of
the late Master, Thomas Boulton, who died in 1734.
Mr. Murgatroyd was not licensed to the Dree School
until 1740. In his own journal, January 19th, 1786,
he says, “ This afternoon agreed about quitting the
School and on the 23rd, “ This afternoon I resign’d
Slaithwaite School into the hands of the new chosen
Trustees. I have been Master from May 29th, 1738 —
near 48 years. I hope that I have done my duty in this
important trust with faithfulness. If I have at any
time erred may God forgive me for Christ’s sake.
24th — Awak’d with God. C.D. A fine winter’s day.
This is the last day of School teaching with me at
Slaighwaite ; being St. Paul’s Eve, ’tis a remarkable
time. The Lord give me grace to live my few
remaining days to his glory.”

Mr. Murgatroyd was ordained in 1754 deacon, and
in 1755 Priest, by the Archbishop of York, as Curate

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of the Parish Church of Almondbury, on the nomina¬
tion of the Rev. Edward Rishton, Yicar, on a stipend
of fifteen pounds per annum. His letters of orders
and licenses are in my possession. In addition to
this salary, a collection was made from house to house
throughout the parish — which is ten miles long. He
records “ Augt. 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1755, a collection
made for Almondbury Curate, got £4 110: gave the
Clark 5s. for going with me, and one day’s horse hire.”
His testimonials were signed by Dr. Legh, Yicar of
Halifax, Mr. Sandford, Yicar of Huddersfield, and
Mr. Thorns. Mr. Murgatroyd continued, whilst
residing at Slaithwaite, the Cure of Almondbury,
until July 17th, 1767 ; after which he was engaged in
various Churches from Sunday to Sunday for nearly
forty years — frequently taking duty at Slaithwaite
for the successive Ministers ; and must have ridden
or walked many miles, for a very small remuneration.
He writes “Rev. Mr. Burnett* paid Eeb. 12, 1761,
£10 10s. Od. and surplice dues for taking care of
Slaigh. Chapel 20 Sundays.” He remarks that he
never received more than half-a-guinea for a Sunday’s
duty, except once from the widow of the Yicar of
Huddersfield, who gave him a guinea ; and then he
returned it to her. His journal of sermons records
his services at Huddersfield, Almondbury, Kirkheaton,
Kirkburton, Saddleworth, Eriar Mere, Elland, Honley,
Holmfirth, Ripponden, Sowerby, Emley, Longwood,

* Curate to the Rev. Henry Venn, and afterwards Incumbent
of Elland.

REV. JOHN MURGATROYD.

Marsden, Lightcliff, Bastrick, Deanhead, Slaithwaite,
&c. &c. In fact, all the Churches and Chapels within
twenty miles of Slaithwaite ; and this continues
with gradually less frequency until his death. The
last entry is July 27th, 1806, ‘‘At home — no horse.”

On his resignation of the Curacy of Almondbury
he seems to have sought the charms of connubial life.
He was married at Almondbury, December 16th, 1767,
to Ann Mellor, daughter of Edmund and Martha Mel-
lor, of Lingards ; one of the most respectable families in
the place. He built a house in Lingards in 1786, on his
resignation of the School, and resided there until his
death, Oct. 27th, 1806. The house is still in good
condition, and in the possession of his nephew, Mr.
John Mellor,' under the Earl of Dartmouth. The
following inscription over the door still remains, in
ornamental characters :

En Lector M attende.

I. 1786 A.

Slender’s the thread on which life doth depend,

A moment’s time may bring me to my end ;

Therefore while I do live my care shall be
To have true comfort in eternity.

Mr. Murgatroyd’s Commonplace Books shew a great
amount of industry, in abstracting and copying various
works in Divinity, History, and Poetry, which he
borrowed from his friends ; also a correspondence in
early years with Mr. Miller, School Master of Milns-
bridge, I presume Longwood School, founded about
the same time with Slaithwaite, and by Mr. Thomas
Walker, one of our benefactors. Mr. Miller was a

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Classical Scholar, and ingenious in stone cutting. An
old inscription remains in the Free School, which was
placed over the door of the School when rebuilt,
engraved by him :

#.Nbn operis famam poterit delere vetustas.

Anno Domini 1744.

Letters are also preserved from several grateful pupils,
who had gone forth and occupied good situations in
life in London and elsewhere. From all which it will
appear, that as a School Master, Mr. Murgatroyd
must have been a very use’ful and valuable man.

But we have rather to do with him in this Record
as a Divine ; in which character I do not think that
he was very eminent, but laborious and conscientious,
and took great pains in the preparation of his sermons.
He never practised extemporary preaching: it was little
used in those days, except among the Methodists, as
the revivers of Evangelical doctrine were called. He
seems at first to have adopted the moral style of Mr.
Thorns, and after his death the actual sermons of that
gentleman, but re-written ; and to have had consider¬
able prejudice against the gospel a 9 preached by Mr.
Venn and others of his views. But a gradual change
is observable, both in his sermons and his notes ; and
about 1778 we find him frequently engaged at Elland,
for Mr. Burnett, who was a decidedly Evangelical
Clergyman. He records the texts preached on by
Mr. Venn, Mr. Ingham, and Mr. Powley, at Slaith-

* “ Antiquity shall not be able to obliterate the memory of the
work.”

REV. JOHN MURGATROYD.

waite, with some interest. He may probably have
been disappointed in not succeeding Mr. Thorns as
Incumbent : certainly Mr. Turly, bis actual successor,
seems to have met with no particular favor, as we
shall have to shew in giving account of .that gentleman,
whose matter and style were new and startling to him.
Mr. Murgatroyd was also frequently accustomed to
preach for Mr. Wilson, from 1780 to 1806, and hence
I have no doubt that there was a substantial agreement
between them. I have heard it said that when Mr.
Wilson wished for his services, he would ring a bell
early on Sunday Morning, their houses being on
•opposite sides of the valley. A devout feeling runs
through all his later diaries, and he notes the substance
of the sermons which he hears.

May 30, 1789, he writes — “ This day, by the day of
the. month, fifty-one years ago, I began to be the
Master of a School. Old David Eagland entered me
into Slaighwaite School. I hope that the Lord has
ever been my guide, both in my private and public
capacity hitherto — where and when I have been guilty
of commission of sin, and omission of duty, I pray
God in Christ’s name to forgive me, and in future
guide me through those few days which I have to be
on this side eternity. Amen, Amen, Amen !”

So good a man could scarcely escape persecution in
some form ; although

“ Along the cool, sequester’d vale of life
He held the noiseless tenor of his way.”

He officiated at Marsden very frequently, and in the

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

year 1779 — when a vacancy in the living occurred, he
expected to have been appointed, and it seems with
reason. But he met with very rude treatment from
some of the inhabitants, who seem to have favoured
Mr. Bellas, of Height (Friar Mere), in Saddle worth,
afterwards Incumbent of Marsden ; with whom, how¬
ever, Mr. Murgatroyd was always on good terms,
and often preached for him; but who was, as tradition
reports, a man of very different habits ; and who
bid the people follow his words, not his deeds. In
consequence of which many of them came to Slaith-
waite Chapel. The following are curious extracts : —
“ 1779, March the 28th, at Marsden, and the Chapel-
warden, encouraged by the Methodistical party, (?).
kept the door locked again, so we’d no service. I
dined at Waterside, and got well home, Mr. Marsden
came with me to this side Shaker Wood. The 11th,
The chapel door was kept locked again, Mane (morn¬
ing). For the same reason, V. (evening). They got
foolish Taylor, of Saddleworth Church, to interfere and
do the duty, Yesp. They at noon kept the chapel
door fast, and turned the people in at the other door.
Shameful work.” So on the 18th. — “ April the 25th.
At Marsden, and the door locked still. As I went up
three or four men were placed in Mr. Marsden’s wood
to abuse me, who did so in a shameful manner. They
were placed there again at night, but Mr. Marsden
being with me, they walked off without giving any
abuse. Bellas, of Height, came to do duty for them,
Yesp. Bobert France, of Blakestones, brought me a

REV. JOHN MURGATROYD.

message, April 24th, from Mr. Smith (Yicar of
Almondbury), to persist in going, which encouraged
me to go again. Must such work go unpunished ?
May the 2nd, at home. Oh pity ! Mr. Marsden was
to acquaint me if the hell rang, but hearing nothing
from him, I stayed at home. Snow fell this day. The
9th, at home. Oh pity I” The same continues for
the next month. "We have no further account.

Mr. Murgatroyd had no children; he lived in
Slaithwaite 29 years as a bachelor, thirty as a married
man, and nearly ten as a widower. Mrs. Murgatroyd
died April 27th, 1797, aged 77 years. He bequeathed
his property to his niece, Miss Mellor,who was brought
up under his care, and who died June 20th, 1854, aged
74. He lies buried within the site of the old chapel,
with the Mellor family. An appropriate inscription
was added, in 1844, to the record on the family grave¬
stone, at my suggestion, at Miss Mellor’ s cost, just
a century after his completion of the rebuilding of
the School-house.

Mr. Murgatroyd was succeeded, in 1786, in the
School, by Mr. John Boulton, a relative of the former
master, and subsequently by the Bev. William Smith,
and others, of whom an account will be given here¬
after.

It is difficult to estimate the value of such a man’s
labors and example ; although, as a preacher he may
not have been highly gifted. His burial is thus
recorded by the Bev. William Boberts in the Begister :

“ 1806, Oct. 30, Bevd. John Murgatroyd, an amiable
man, aged 87, Slaithwaite/ 1

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

I shall conclude this Lecture by an extract from
Mr. Murgatroyd’s diary — his closing observations on
the year 1791 : — “ The Lord for Christ’s sake forgive
the sins committed by me throughout this year — and
if my life be continued, give me grace to prepare to live
for ever in heaven, that I may be meet to join in
the praises of the Triune God, Lather, Son, and Holy
Ghost, — make one of the chorus in the everlasting
songs of redeeming love. Lord, guide me henceforth
for this glorious purpose. Almighty God, give me
and my family and relatives, and all others, grace; that
thy will may be done by us on earth, as it is done in
heaven. Then having lived in obedience to thy word
in our Bibles, we shall look on our deliverance from
this cumbersome world by death, to be a friendly
inlet to a place where cumber can never come ; but
our comforts will be pure and unmixed with any trouble,
and everlasting in God’s presence, where there is ful¬
ness of joy. This happiness should be ever, while pas¬
sing through this world, highest in our thoughts, and
if we bear a true love for our souls, will be so. Amen !”

It is a matter of great thankfulness that Slaith waite
has had, generally, both a minister and a schoolmaster
of learning and piety, and thus Science has walked
hand in hand with Religion ; like the Star of Beth¬
lehem, conducting the sages to Christ. Even so may
you walk in the light of the many and blessed advan¬
tages afforded you, until the light of this world is lost
in the glory of that Sun which shall never set.

March 19th, 1863.

APPENDIX No. II

NOTES & ILLUSTRATIONS OF LECTURE II.

THE REV. JOSEPH THORNS.

“A COPY.”

The answer of the Chapelwarden of Slaithwaite to the Articles
to be inquired of in the Visitation of the Itight \V0r3hipful
E Imund Pyle, Doctor in Divinity, Archdeacon of the Arch¬
deaconry of York, June 27, 1758.

Title 1. — Concerning Churches and things appertaining there¬
unto. None to present.

Title 2 — Concerning the Living and the Minister’s House.
None to present.

Title 3. — Concerning Hospitals and Schools, Schoolmasters,
Physicians, Surgeons and Mid wives. None to present.

Title 4. — Concerning the Clergy, except on the other side.
None to present

Title 5. — Concerning Parish Church Officers. None to present.

Title 6. — Present: VVm. Bamforth or Bamford of Inghe«,d ;
Jos'"1, Sugden ; John Hirst, of Castle, and James Bamford or
Bamforth, of Einley Place, for common, open and notorious
profain cursers and swearers.

Title 7. — Concerning Ecclesiastical Officers. N one to present.

(Witness) JOHN EAGLAND,

Chapelwarden.

Indorsed as follows : —

Mr Thorns protests and affirms that he will present me
for perjury. If I do not present all the Landlords in Slaith¬
waite for selling A le on Sundays at W eddings, &c. Also he
wants me to suppress and hinder the Singers from singing in
our Chapel. Also he has chosen Wm. Bamforth to be
Chapelwarden for this present year, and according to the
opinions of all the best sort of men in chapelry, he is not a
propper person for that Office. In the first place, as to the
Landlords there is not more sivilized men, Take them all
together in one Country Town in England. Their Houses
are kept free from gaming or whoring or any other vice that
I know of, Only the sin of cursing and swearing, is too much

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

used by the country people when they meet together, but I
have taken care to present four of the most notorious villans.
One of which Mr. Thoms has nominated the new Chapel-
warden. As to the singers they have always bom a very
good character forty years, to my certain knowledge. And
a very good set of singers we have, which gives their services
gratis. — A few years since Mr. Thoms was sorely Troubled
with Mercenary qualms, as his constitution is very subject to
that Distemper, and he extorted a good Guinea from ye poor
singing Lads, upon "this condition that he would never
disturb them in their singing any more. Now the Fitt
returned on Feb?- last and Mr. Thorns ordered Mr. Batty to
send for a Citation for the Singers. Upon that I heard a
great part of the Congregation say that if the Singers must
not sing, they would not come to Chappel any more — for the
singers had something new and affecting. But Mr. Thorns for
his part had nothing but some Old Sermons to repeat which
almost every Body knows : As to reading ye Divine Services
he makes a poor doo with it— he is so very idle yl scarce
one half of the congregation can hear what he says, which
is a great pitty, for it makes a great many absent themselves
from Chappel. I dont think but Mr. Thoms is presentable
in his apparel, in his white stockings, his white waistcoat, his
mottle coat and his J ockey Cap, so that no one can tell by
his garb that he is a Priest, for he is oft dresst more like a
Dancing Master then a Priest — (not to mention his fighting).
Mr. Thorns has a bad property in going over his neighbours
Thresholds oft to hear news and lies amongst the Butchers
and sitting in Cobler’s shops, day by day. Busying himself
with every Body’s business, Repeating Grievances, and
proving Tales, causing great disturbance all the Town over,
Giving nicknames and makes a droll upon everybody’s
character, Calling every body Fool or Beggar but himself,
Bullocking and hectoring every body with Wagers, that he is
so rich and so rich. Well I do believe the man is rich in
money — But would be far better for his Congregation if he
was more rich in his Talents of grace — I am sorry to speak
it. — But he realy is a common Town Pest, continually causing
difference Both in the Chappel and in the Street. So I
pray God either to mend him or to Remove him, or take him
quite away. Which is the Harty prayer of the Congregation.

JOHN EAGLAND, Chapel warden.

June 26th, 1758,

SLAITHWAITE FREE SCHOOL.

The following is a copy of an old Abstract of the Second Trust
Deed. 1731.

“ Thomas Walker, Salter, (Huddersfield) gave one hundred
.pounds (by will dated 9th May, 1719). Michael Anely ten
pounds, Dr. William Walker (of Wakefield) ten pounds, and
the Rev. Mr. Robert Meek nine pounds ; to be laid out for
the use of a School of good Literature at Slaighthwaite
(excepting 9s- deducted for a sacrament) with which sums
Mr. William Walker purchased a farm, copyhold land at
Woodlane-in-Sowerby, containing one messuage or dwelling
house, one laith, and one cow house, with 3 acres and 3 foods
of meadow and pasture land, also ye Ley Close, and besides
that 1 acre and 1 rood, and a close called the Ing. One
shilling and sixpence is paid to ye Lord of the Manor of
Wakefield, for which composition is made. — Nine shillings
(as above) is paid yearly out of ye said premises for wine for a
sacrament at Whitsuntide at Slaighwaite, according to Mr.
Meek’s will, ard five pounds eleven shillings to the school, in
case that the rents and profits will amount to pay both
sums, otherwise each must abate proportionably. The. said
premises were conveyed by the former owner to the said
William Walker, Edmund Bothomley (son and heir of
./Eneas Bothomley) and William Dawson, of Wakefield,
Gent., and last surviver.

s< The schoolmaster must be elected and qualified to perform
his duty, as is in this Tripartite Deed bearing date ye Twenty-
fifth day of December, 1731, hereafter expressed. First. —
Such schoolmaster shall on every vacancy or removal, or in
forty days after, be elected and chosen by the said William
Walker, Edmund Bothomley, and William Dawson, and the
last survivors of them. Then afterwards or after their deaths,
a schoolmaster shall be chosen by the Vicar of Huddersfield
for ye time being, ye Curates of Slaighwaite and Deanhead
for the time being, and their respective successors for ever.
u Item. — Ten children, boys and girls to be taught. ,

“ Item — The master must be a member of the Church or
England ; of a sober life and conversation, and one who
frequents the Holy Communion. Hath a good genius for
teaching youth to read, can write a good hand, and under¬
stands the grounds of arithmetic, will also carefully attend
his school.

“ Item. — The master must take care of the manners and
behaviour of ye scholars ; use proper methods for discourag¬
ing vice, particularly lying, cursing, swearing, and profaning
the Lord’s-day. Qblige them in order hereunto to attend

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

divine service, teach them to read English well. When the
boys can read com] etently well, then teach them to write a
fair legible hand, with grounds of arithmetic, sufficient to
qualify them for common apprentices.
u Item — The master must teach both the boys and girls the
catechism, as is contained in the Liturgy of the Church of
England, and catechise them once a week in the school. ✓
u Item. — The children who are taken in must be the poorest
objects, and chosen out of the townships of Slaighwaite and
Lingards, by Edmund Bothomley during his life, and after
his death by the curate, chapel warden, and overseer of
Slaighwaite for ever.

il Item. — If any child, proves to be incorrigible after due
admonition and moderate correction, such must be displaced
and another chosen in its room.

** Item. — The parents of the elected children shall assure the
master as far as they can that they shall not be kept from
school on any occasion whatever except want of health
“ Item — Girls only to be taught to read well and catechized,
except the master has a wife, who can teach them to knit or
sew, then that to be done.

u Item. — Should the estate by any unforeseen accident be
deficient or not raise the yearly value it does now, then both
the charities shall abate proportionably of their value
“ Item. — The master shall keep a book where he shall fairly
enter the names and age of the children on their being
admitted, together with the names of the parents, and when
such children are dismissed, shall enter their age, and how
much improved.

“ Item. — Lastly : If any master does not perform his duty
according to the above Rules, or fails in any of the qualifica¬
tions required of him, then the said electors shall have power
to keep back his stipend, remove him and elect another more
proper person in his stead.”

MESSRS. WALKER AND OTHERS.

The above Deed made however no provision for the con¬
tinuation of the Trust.

The property therefore lapsed to the heirs-at-law, and they
kindly united in 1784 in renewing the Trust, and both
estates were placed in the same trustees and have so con¬
tinued ever since. The parties to the last named deed were
Rev. M. Powley, Vicar of Dewsbury, and James Shaw, of
Lingards (surviving trustees) and Richard Shaw, of Man¬
chester, heir-at-law of Thomas Shaw, late of Lingarths,
Salter, who survived Edmund Mellor of the first part.
Richard Kennett, of Wakefield, Esq., only son and heir-at-

SLAITH WAITE FREE SCHOOL.

law of Mary, late wife of the Reverend — Kennett, late of
Bradford, which said Mary was the only surviving child and
heir of William Walker, of Wakefield aforesaid, merchant,
by his late wife, and who was the only surviving heir of
William Walker, of Wakefield ; who survived Edmund
Bothomley, of Slaith waite, son and heir of ^Eneas Bothomley,
formerly of the same place, all deceased, of the second part ;
and William Elmsall, of Brearley Manor, of the third part.
The estates were thus conveyed to Mr. Elmsall, who was
Lord Dartmouth’s agent, and by him to surviving and new
trustees. And the Trust has been duly continued ; and is
now executed with great facility under a new scheme,
sanctioned in 1859 by the Commissioners of Public. Charities.

MRS. DOROTHY WALKER.

In the oldest "Register of the Chapel there is a memorandum
in Mr. Meeke’s handwriting, being a list of articles belonging
to the Chapel, amongst which is : “ A new silver plate
given by Dr. Walker's wife, Mrs. Dorothy Walker ; it
weighs ten ounces troy, wanting — pennyweights. Sent to
me for the Chappell Communion. Sep. 28, 1720.” The
plate is still in use, with a cup of the same date, and another
cup purchased by the Chapelry in 1779, for four guineas.
We have only a pewter flagon. May some kind person be
induced to imitate Mrs. Dorothy Walker !

GRADUATION OF MINISTERS.

Since the completion of the foregoing Lecture, I have visited
Cambridge, and obtained the following extracts from the
“ Graduati Cantabrigienses” in the University Library : —

“ Meek, Gul. Jesus College. A.B. 1706.

“ SutclifF, John St John's. A.B. 1718.

“Thorns, Jos. Trinity. A.B. 1725. A.M. 1732.

“ Furly, Sam. Queen’s. A.B. 1758.

“ Furly, Sam. Magdalen. A.B. 1781.

The “ Gul. Meek” above mentioned may have been the “ Billy
Meek,” who was the nephew and protege of our benefactor. Mr.
SutclifF and Mr. Thorns are evidently shewn to have been
graduates, as conjectured of the latter : and of Mr. Furly, father
and son we shall have occasion to speak in the next lecture.

LECTUEE III.

Tee Eeyival oe Eeligion.— Eey. Henry Venn —
Eey. Samuel Furly, B.A., Incumbent, 1761 to
1767 — Eey. Matthew Powlet,M.A., Incumbent,
1767 to 1777. — Their Subsequent Memoirs.

It was observed in the last lecture that the coldness
and deadness in the pulpit, and negligence out of it
which prevailed during the period (1724 to 1760), to
which that lecture referred, were only too characteristic
of England in general. Infidelity had made such
havoc among the higher orders, that Christian writers
thought it enough to defend the outworks ; whilst
profaneness and immorality spread among the lower
ranks of society. Moral and spiritual darkness rested
upon the deep ; but at length the spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. He who walks among
golden candlesticks had said “ Let there be light !”

A revival of true religion had commenced about the
year 1730, at Oxford among some young students,
including the two Wesleys ; who were joined by
Whitfield and others, and called from their strict¬
ness of manners and regularity of religious services,
“ Methodists.” In the course of thirty years this
movement, which began within the Church of England
itself, had extended far and wide ; although checked
by the Ecclesiastical authorities. The first who in¬
troduced the revived doctrines of grace, with energy
into the West-Eiding, was the Eev. Benjamin Ingham,

REVIVAL OE RELIGION.

one of the associates of the original methodists at
Oxford. He was followed by such crowds, whenever
he preached in the churches and parochial chapels,
that it gave great offence: and at a visitation held
June 6th, 1739, he was forbidden by the Arch¬
bishop of York, to preach in any churches and chapels
in his diocese. This led to the introduction of the
Moravian Brethren; the formation of the Wesleyan
Society, and of a small sect eventually called “ Ingham-
ites” — not quite extinct. The new preachers were
at first driven from the churches to the fields ; and the
doctrines of redemption, conversion, justification and
sanctification, produced marvellous effects wherever
they were declared.

Mr. Ingham married Lady Margaret Hastings,
sister of the celebrated Countess of Huntingdon, and
they resided at Bedstone Hall, near Leeds.

At Helmsley, in the North-Biding, Dr. Conyers
became a distinguished and successful minister, and
had at one time 1 800 communicants : and on account
of the prominence of the doctrine of the new birth in
his discourses he was called profanely “ Old born
again.” At Haworth, near Bradford, the Bev. Wm.
Grimshaw had no less than 1200 communicants. Mr.
Grimshaw was an eminently laborious and successful
preacher, and at Haworth there has been a succession
of faithful and earnest preachers, for more than a
century : for I have in my possession a printed letter
by Isaac Smith, M.A., of Haworth, occasioned by his
suspension in 1739, nominally for marrying persons

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

not resident in liis chapelry, but most probably for the
evangelical doctrines which he set forth — and Haworth
has been rendered famous, of late years, by the writings
of the daughters of the Hev. Patrick Bronte,

The noble Countess of Huntingdon was a great
promoter of this evangelical revival. She appointed
several clergymen as her chaplains, who officiated,
according to the order of the Church of England, in
Parish Churches, and also in chapels founded by her
ladyship in various parts of the kingdom : and this
continued until it was decided that those chapels were
unlawful, when several eminent clergymen withdrew,
and confined their services to consecrated buildings.

At the same time the excellent and pious William,
second Earl of Dartmouth, became an influential
patron of the same party : and being highly esteemed
by the good King George III., was able to exert con¬
siderable power in their protection. He was the
friend of the poet Cowper, who speaks of him as an
exception to the general state of society in the higher
ranks, and as

“ One who wears a coronet and prays.”

It was through his lordship’s influence that, in 1759,
the Eev. Henry Venn, became Vicar of Huddersfield ;
and this commenced a new era in the religious history
of the parish and neighbourhood. Mr. Venn was a
man of mighty power, “ A burning and a shining
light.” His ministry was wonderfully blest to all
around ; until he was overwhelmed by his labours, and
obliged, in 1770, to resign a post of small endowment,

REV. HENRY VENN.

though of extensive usefulness, through failing health,
for the small and retired vicarage of Yelling in North¬
amptonshire. The effects of his preaching were
compared to that of water upon lime — the people fell
before him.

The nomination of Slaith waite perpetual curacy
being in the Vicar of 1 1 uddersfield, Mr. Venn appointed
the Kev. Samuel Furly, B A , who had been connected
with the Countess of Huntingdon, as the successor of
Mr. Thorns, in 1761. Mr. Venn preached occasionally
at Slaithwaite, and in the course of his visitation to
the different townships to receive his dues. In his
Memoirs, by his grandson, the present Kev. Henry
Venn, he says, “ I am now sitting at Abraham Hall’s,
in Goldcar, who is I believe a faithful disciple.”
His son, Mr. James Hall, of Golcar, a worthy sup¬
porter of the church in that township, will be
recollected by many. He told me that when Mr.
Venn came to Huddersfield, some years after he had
resigned the vicarage, he remembered going to the
parish church with his father to hear Mr. Venn, and
in returning some one said — c‘ What ! hast been
to hear t’owd Trumpet again !” The anecdote is
characteristic of the clear, lucid and authoritative power
of Mr. Venn’s ministry of the word, although some¬
times with great tenderness and love. Mr. James
Hall, a short time before his death, sent for me, for the
purpose of making over to me and my successors his
interest in a pew near the pulpit in Slaithwaite church,
which he thought convenient for the minister’s family.

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

The pulpit of the old parish church in which Mr. Venn
preached was removed to Longwood Chapel, on the
rebuilding of the church in 1836. Longwood chapel
was erected about 1750. Mr. Murgatroyd records : —
“ Dec. 12, 1750. Gave James Sykes, Linth* Hall, 5s.
a subscription to Longwood Hew Chapel.” There
was previously no chapel or place of worship between
Slaithwaite and Huddersfield. After Mr. Venn’s
removal, as he was not succeeded by a person of like
views and zeal, many of the more earnest people came
to Slaithwaite Chapel, to enjoy the ministry of the
Eev. Mr. Powley, who was also appointed by Mr.
Venn in 1767; and his successor the Eev. Thomas
Wilson. All of whom were distinguished and honoured
preachers of the everlasting gospel : holy and devoted
men of God.

The most permanent memorial of this period is
“ The Elland Society.” An association of clergymen
of Evangelical sentiments, commenced at Huddersfield
in 1767, by Mr. Venn, and held at the vicarage until
removed to Elland in 1770, when the founder resigned
the former cure. It has now continued for ninety-
six years ; at first only as a society for mutual exhor¬
tation, instruction and comfort ; but since 1777, as an
association for the purpose of helping pious and
devoted young men to obtain an education at the
universities, and to fit them for the sacred ministry of
the church. It still flourishes. The number of its
members being limited to twenty-four, who are elected
by ballot, a single black ball excluding a candidate.

" REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

Nearly two hundred young men have received assist¬
ance ; and many have occupied distinguished positions
in the church. The celebrated poet, Henry Kirke
"White, and the first Missionary of New Zealand,
Samuel Marsden may be specified. The list of members
from the first includes many of the eminent names of
those clergy who have, in this country especially,
maintained the cause of Evangelical religion. Among
them are Mr. Powley and Mr. Wilson, of Slaith waite,
Mr. Smith, of Almondbury, Mr. Eobinson, of Longwood,
and Mr. Padwick, of Linthwaite. The society has
again met at Huddersfield since 1844, and its useful¬
ness is only limited by the amount of subscriptions to
its funds from well disposed members of the church.

The latter part of the nineteenth century was
remarkable for the rise of other societies #of more
extensive influence, for the promotion of the cause of
true religion at home and abroad — and it was the
earnest desire of the ministers to whom our record
refers, to co-operate in these movements, in strict
accordance with the principles and discipline of the
Church of England. The revival had been evidently
wrought by the Spirit of God ; it arose within the
Church of England ; and it was not the original
intention or design of even those who practically
separated from her communion, to do so, until, as they
thought, compelled by circumstances. It is neither
my duty nor wish to judge others, but to rejoice that
in this chapelry the zeal of the ministry was tempered
with a due regard to ecclesiastical order in the public

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

administration ; whilst advantage was taken of such
private means of grace as are not now deemed to be
inconsistent with true churchmanship.

We return therefore to the first of the new series of
Evangelical Ministers: —

Tue Rev. Samuel Euely, B.A., Incumbent,
1761 to 1767.

I am indebted to the late venerable Mr. Samuel
Sykes, of Holywell, Slaithwaite, for traditional recol¬
lections of several of the ministers whose labours I
have to record, and from him I learned that Mr.
Eurlv, when he came to Slaithwaite was a slender,
middle-aged man ; that he preached extempore, and
resided in the house already described.

The entries of baptisms and burials in the register
are in the handwriting of Mr. Murgatroyd, from
October, 1760, to March, 1762 — when Mr. Eurly’s
hand first appears ; but this may be owing to the
entries having been previously made in some other
book, as the uniformity of the writing seems to
indicate, and Mr. Murgatroyd employed to copy them
in. Hence we cannot infer that Mr. Eurly was non¬
resident. The entries continue in his handwriting
chiefly until March, 1767, when that of Mr. Murgat¬
royd again appears, until July in the same year, when
Mr. Powley’s first occurs.

It is a proof of the success of Mr. Furly’s ministry
that it became necessary to enlarge the chapel by the

REV. SAMUEL FURLY.

erection of a gallery, for which purpose a faculty was
granted 30th April, 1765.

Among Mr. Murgatroyd’s books is a volume of
sermons and tracts by Whitfield, Eomaine, and Yenn,
with an address by Mr. Furly, entitled “ A Minister’s
Letter to his Parishioners, in answer to some serious
questions.” Printed by Griffith Wright, at Leeds,
dated Slaigh waite, October 20, 1764. A striking and
excellent paper, chiefly on the new birth and the
doctrines connected therewith. He says “ Your last
question inquires 1 What you are to understand by
what you are told from the pulpit that there has not
been any true Christian doctrine preached here these
100 years, ’till of late.’ This you have never been
told from the pulpit ; for I have been informed that, a
very little more than eighty years ago, the same truths
were taught in this place which are now preached.
But waving this, I would desire every impartial person
to judge whether the sermons that were preached here
a few years ago were agreeable to the true Christian
doctrine expressed in our Homilies, and set forth in
the writings of our great Eeformers. I leave every
one to judge for himself.”

Mr. Furly thus appears to have met with consider,
able prejudice and some opposition at Slaithwaite ; .and
if I may judge from the very large handwriting in
which the following letters are copied by Mr. MurgaL
royd, even that good man was not exempt from the
feeling at first, although he ultimately adopted the

same views.

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

“ An extract of some passages in a letter from the
Archbishop of York to the Yicar of Almondbury,
dated: Bradsworth, November 24th, 1769, occasioned
by Mr. Bishton’s having made his Grace a present of
one of Mr. Furly’s famous printed papers : —

“ With regard to the delusions spread amongst the
people in your Parish, and in that part of the Diocese,
I know no better way to resist the artifices of the
deceivers than by plain instruction in the genuine
doctrines of Christianity, and constant attention to the
parochial duty. In conversing with those who are
likely to be led astray, and by small tracts (such as
Archbishop Synge’s Knowledge of Beligion made easy
for the meanest capacity,) being given them, they
may be satisfy’ d with themselves and live honestly,
soberly and industriously with comfort and credit.
There will be deceivers and deceived, as there have
been since the rise of Christianity ; and guarding the
minds of those likely to be deceived has been found
more effectual than opposing in controversy the
Deceivers. I wish success to all your labours and am
Your affectionate Brother,

B. EBOB.”

I presume that the following was addressed by Mr.
Bishton to Mr. Murgatroyd, at that time his curate.

“ Deae Sie, — As I have not his Grace’s express
permission to make his letter public, I must insist upon
it that you suffer no copy to be taken, nor even to
show or read it, but to persons of approved prudence

REV. SAMUEL FURLY.

and discretion — for, should it fall into the hands of
those turbulent gentlemen they might possibly publish
it, with their unmannerly comments upon it, which
might subject me to his Grace’s displeasure, which I
am very unwilling to incur. I have been long sensible
that these men bear no inward reverence to their
ecclesiastical superiors, and only submit to them because
they cannot help it, and to keep themselves out of the
reach of their discipline.”

Mr. Furly laboured with much earnestness and
success, until he left, in 1767, for St. Boche, Cornwall;
a small and remote church — and he regretted leaving
Slaithwaite. My old friend added that Mr. Furly
became blind, but continued to preach; he could repeat
the prayers and most of the psalms from memory, and
his wife used to read the lessons. I have, however,
no confirmation of his blindness, though much of his
affliction, And this is all which I have been able to
gather respecting him from local tradition, except the
following letter, of which I have the original autograph,
addressed to Mr. Jos. Mellor, of Lingards, and bearing
the post mark of St. Boche.

“ March 25th, 1768.

“ Dejlr Sir,

“ It is now very near a year since I left your
village ; but time, which is the rapacious devourer
of all things, will never erase from a grateful mind
favours that have been once received. When I had
the happiness to reside in Slaighwaite, a place which

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

will ever share in my affections, I remember with
gratitude the repeated civilities which your good
nature led you to shew me and mine. But, Dear Sir,
it ought to be ever impress’d upon your mind that
good nature, which gives a title to the regard of our
fellow creatures, will never entitle any one to the
kingdom of heaven. What God requires is a sincere
acknowledgement and deep sense of the natural aliena¬
tion of the heart from Him ; its shocking inward
corruption, an abhorrence of its worldly and sensual
desires, a penitent renouncing of this present evil
wrorld, and an unfeigned attachment to the Lord
Jestjs Cheist, His person, work and grace, His
people, cause and truth. Where this is not, the heart
is full of evil in the sight of GOD, the external profes¬
sion of religion despised by Him, and the soul rejected
from before Him. For the heart can never be in a
state which God will approve, till real repentance has
humbled it, in a deep sense of its horrid depravity,
and the blood and grace of Christ have purged it from
guilt and renewed it in holiness. To this the Holy
Scripture bears sacred testimony in every part. The
Lord give unto you understanding in all things
pertaining unto your soul’s good.

It gives me great satisfaction that so valuable a
man as Mr. Fowley is with my dear people of Slaigh-
waite. Lord Dartmouth esteems him very highly,
and thinks him not only a truly gracious servant of
God, but in particular a man of most excellent spirit.
Our Christian friends at Bath love him and esteem him

REV. SAMUEL EURLY.

to a great degree. And two Gospel Ministers in this
country, who were with him at College at Oxford,
look upon him with an uncommon affection. I am
very intimate with them, and often hear them speak
of him.

As therefore he is far more worthy of your regard
than myself, no doubt but the same kindness you
shewed to me you will continue to him.

Our little Jansie and little George had the small
pox two or three weeks ago ; they were both very full,
and at the time, very ill ; but are happily recovered,
and not likely to be much marked.

My dear Nancy now lies in of a little girl and is
purely. We both desire our respects to your sister,
Miss Mellor, and your son, Pray remember us to
the family of the Neilds. With gratitude and love.

I am, Dear Sir,

Your affectionate Friend,

S. FURLY.

P.S. — I have this post wrote to Mr. Bottomley and
desired my affectionate regards to all the rest of the
people.”

In addition to these local traditions it will be in¬
teresting, I believe, to add the accounts which I have
been able, to collect respecting Mr. Furly’s labours
and suffering from other sources ; and his previous
and subsequent history. In the Memoir of the
Countess of Huntingdon, vol. II. p. 2, we read

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS,

“It was now (1781) that the Eev. Samuel Furly
was removed to Bath, on account of his health. This
good man was early connected with the Methodists.
While at Cambridge he had formed an acquaintance
with Mr. Yenn, then fellow of Queen’s College, ands
his senior by eight years. To him he recommended
‘Law’s Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life ;’ and
Mr. Yenn read it with peculiar interest and advantage,
and immediately began to frame his life, according to
the Christian Model there delineated. After his
ordination Mr. Furly did duty a few months in London,
occasionally assisting Mr. Eomaine, and soon after
removed to Lakenlieath in Suffolk. He continued
there but a short time, and from that place went into
Yorkshire, and resided at Kippax twelve months.
Whilst there, Lady Huntingdon became acquainted
with Mr. Furly, through the medium of Mrs. Medhurst.
He afterwards removed to Slaighthwaite, where he
remained five years, and preached to a large congrega¬
tion, to many of whom his ministry was much blessed.
There he received, avisitfrom the Countess of Huntingdon,
when she was with Lady Margaret Ingham at Aberford.
In the year 1766, being in London, he was introduced
by the Countess to the excellent Mr. Thornton, of
Clapham, who presented him to the living of Eoche in
Cornwall.”

“Mr. Furly seldom left his parish ; but whenever he
visited Bath, he always rejoiced at being invited to
preach in Lady Huntingdon’s chapel. He was a faithful
and zealous preacher of the Everlasting Hospel ; rather

REV. SAMUEL FURLY.

a Boanerges than a Barnabas (more a Son of Thunder
than of Consolation) and his learning aud abilities
made him an excellent explainer of the Holy Scriptures.
During the period that he was at Bath, for the benefit
of his health aud medical advice, Lady Huntingdon,
often visited him. “ Dear Mr. Burly (says Mr. Venn)
writes me word he had the pleasure of seeing your
Ladyship at Miss Gideon’s. Your visits of love to
that afflicted friend of mine, and child of God, I doubt
not are a more reviving cordial to her soul than any
medicine.” (Miss Gideon was a Lady wrho was con¬
verted through the services of Lady Huntingdon’s
Chaplain, in her Ladyship’s drawing-room.) Through
the whole of her severe illness, Miss Gideon’s cheerful
resignation to the Divine will wTas wonderful to those
who were eye and ear witnesses to the Christian forti¬
tude and patience with which she bore the most
excruciating pain. The conversation of Lady Hunting¬
don and Mr. Burly was peculiarly serviceable to her,
and though she had to struggle with much feebleness
and pain, occasionally attended his ministry at her
Ladyship’s Chapel. ‘‘Hot a complaining word” says
the Countess, ever escaped her ; but she is continually
repeating the sweet passage of scripture “ Whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom he receiveth.” Dear Mr. Burly prayed with
her a few days ago, and administered the Lord’s Supper
at her house. Truly this Child of God is in the
furnace of affliction ; may she come forth “ like gold
from the refiner’s fire.”

SLA.IT H WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

The Evangelical Magazine for July 1797, lent me
by the Rev. Richard Ebenezer Leach, Incumbent of
Holmfirth, contains a life of Mr. Eurly, from which
part of the above account is evidently taken. I gather
further from it that Mr. Eurly was bom at "Westham
in Essex, October 17th, 1722, and was placed early at
the Grammar School in that County.

After the death of his father, which happened when
he was young, he was entered Eellow Commoner at
Queen’s College, Cambridge, as his love of learning
and early piety made him wish to take holy orders ;
and his wishes were seconded by his worthy and pious
mother. "While he was at Cambridge, it pleased God
to give him such a measure of divine grace, that he
stedfastly resisted those temptations which are so
pernicious to young men on their first advancing into
life. He was often wont to express the greatest
thankfulness to his God for enabling him in mercy to
withstand those snares and temptations with which he
was surrounded while there. "When he removed for the
last time, in 1767, to St. Roche, with his wife and five
children, he was a stranger in a remote county, but
the supports of the God of Jacob were with him, and
enabled him to preach his word with power. Upon
his first coming he had to declare the Gospel to a dark
people, and it pleased the Lord to bless his labours.
The dry bones began to stir. Eor a time he was much
attended by numbers from neighbouring parishes.
That, however, did not continue long ; the novelty soon
ceased, but his zealous labours went on, minding not

REV. SAMUEL FURLY.

discouragements. He constantly preached twice every
Lord’s day, and for near twenty years had a lecture
every Wednesday evening; but as the church was
large, and very cold, he, at last, removed the lecture to
his own house. In his family he was indefatig¬
able, and he educated his three sons himself.
After they were grown up, and had left him.
he took a certain number of young gentlemen to
instruct; and his great assiduity and attention to
them are well known in Cornwall. It pleased God
to bless him with a remarkable share of health
and spirits for the greatest part of his life ; but
about twelve years before his death he was attacked
with a violent and uncommon pain in his face, which
was at first supposed to be rheumatic, and as such was
treated It has since been discovered that his case
was mistaken ; and it was plainly perceived at last to
have been the seeds of that fatal disorder, a cancer,
which removed him from this vale of tears. He had
an interval of near five years from his first attack, in
which time he suffered but little. In the spring of
the year 1794 his disorder took a different turn, though
attended with but little pain ; but in the autumn of
that year the symptoms had arisen to a very alarming
height. From the first, when he heard the nature of
his complaint, he well knew he should have much to
suffer ; and the Lord gave him strength for the day.
His agonies were beyond description great, and from
Christmas till his death, which was in August 1795,
his nights were sleepless, and spent in the bitterest

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

pain, and during all that time lie could not rest his
wearied body, for he was totally unable to sit down.
In the midst of this furnace of affliction, his reliance
on his God was firm and unshaken, and his patience
and resignation most exemplary. Not one complaining
word ever escaped his lips ; but he was continually
repeating that sweet passage of Scripture, “ Whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourge th every
son whom he receiveth.” “ I know, (said he) that my
heavenly Father sends me this affliction in much love,
and shall I not patiently bear it ? Is it not a proof
that the Lord treats me like a dear child ? and has he
not kindly bid me not faint when I am rebuked of
him ? Oh that I may but glorify his blessed name in
this sore trial ! My God sees that I want the furnace !
May I but come out like gold that has undergone the
refiner’s fire !** Throughout the whole of his severe
illness his cheerful resignation to the divine will was
wonderful to those who were eye and ear witnesses to
the Christian fortitude and patience with which he
bore the most excruciating pain. Though his sufferings
were so great, yet did he still continue his labours both
in the church and family ; and when any part of that ,
or his friends told him that they feared his exertions
were beyond his strength, his answer was always, “ My
God supports me, and shall I not glorify him while I
have breath P Shall I not declare the everlasting Gospel
which he has appointed me to preach as long as I am
able ? Yes, through his divine assistance, I will shew
forth his praise till I join the church triumphant

REV. SAMUEL FURLY.

above.” He had always a great share of animal
spirits, and much strength of mind ; and, in the younger
part of his life, he had to struggle with a natural
hastiness of disposition. But how was he changed into
the patient lamb before he quitted earth for heaven ?
His tenderness and affection to every part of his family
was great indeed ; and to a friend, who once came to
see him, he blessed God for having given him children
who were willing and able to afford him all the assist¬
ance in their power. He was still able to walk by
leaning on two persons, and they were his constant
supporters. Often did he lift up his heart in thankfulness
to the Lord for this mercy ; and he said that his prayers
were heard by his heavenly Father, who, in much love,
had not confined him to his bed, which he always
dreaded.

About a fortnight before his death he was seized
with a deadness in his right arm, and his legs were so
much swollen, that it was with difficulty he could walk
a few steps. Yet such was his ardour in his great
Master’s cause, that he was supported to the house of
God, and preached a sweet sermon on these words,
" Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ.” Numbers heard him, and
many strangers were there, who were much affected
to see how God assisted his dying servant to declare
his precious word to the last. He afterwards adminis¬
tered the blessed sacrament to many Christians, who
beheld him with astonishment, and streaming eyes.
It was with pleasing and mournful wonder that they

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

saw a dear Minister of the blessed Jesus, almost on
the verge of heaven, exerting himself to perform his
Master’s work : and though one hand was totally dead,
yet with the other did he, with trembling steps, carry
round the bread and wine to his dear flock for the last
time. Throughout the week he seemed to grow weaker
and weaker; but faith and patience strengthened.
On the Saturday following a symptom took place
which betokened that his end was fast approaching.
One of his daughters first mentioned it to him with
weeping eyes. For a few moments alter he heard it,
he continued in prayer with lifted eyes to heaven ;
after that he broke forth into an exclamation of praise>
telling her she had brought him joyful tidings ; and he
then added, “ My prayer to my God has been heard,
that he would enable me to bear with meek patience
whatever he saw fit to lay upon me. I bless and adore
his holy name for this affliction ; he saw that it was
necessary for me to wean me from earth. Well know¬
ing that it was the hand of God, I have been contented
to suffer as much and for as long a time as he pleased.
I shall now soon be released; and how shall I be
thankful enough that he, in much love, is going to
shorten my sufferings ?” Thus did this blessed man
receive the intimation that death was near. In the
evening of that day his son-in-law came to see him,
who is a sincere believer. The moment he approached
him, he cried out, “ My dear son, I have heard joyful
news to-day. Your father will soon be in glory.”

Though it may seem incredible to those who read
this account, yet did Mr. Eurly go to his church the

REV. SAMUEL EURLY.

next day, and preached from t;hese words in the Psalms,
“ They that know thy name, will put their trust in
thee ; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek
thee.” This was a blessed discourse indeed! He
spoke from real experience, that he had found the
God he trusted a strong hold, a covenant God, who
never forsook those who put their reliance on him :
and how did he warn sinners to repent, and turn from
their evil ways, telling them that he had preached to
them for near twenty-seven years from that pulpit,
and had, during all that time, repeatedly warned them
to flee from the wrath to come ; that he now delivered
his message perhaps for the last time, therefore whether
they would hear, or whether they would forbear, he
had delivered his own soul ; and their guilt would be
upon their own heads.” This was indeed the last
time he ever preached that Gospel in which his soul
delighted. The next day, upon enquiring whether his
congregation could hear him, and being told that his
voice was very weak, he said, “ Then I am now useless;
I have finished my Master’s work , I have done with
all things here below.” He also spoke with much
dejight of his approaching dissolution. He was now
in the last stage of weakness, but his faculties were
still unimpaired. On the W ednesday following it was
with much difficulty that he was held up by his family ;
for in bed he could not continue, and they were afraid
that he would die in their arms. In the evening,
however, with great difficulty he was put into bed, and
for some hours after he seemed rather easier, though

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

he could say but little. About three o’clock on Thurs¬
day morning he was taken with the agonies of death.
His wife and six of his children were around his bed ;
and it was evident that his senses continued, and that
in the midst of pain his prayers were directed to his
Saviour, who forsook him not in the shadow of death.
A short time before he breathed his last, his wife took
his hand, and said, “ My dear husband, you are going
to Jesus.” He then sweetly fell asleep in that Jesus,
to whose arms he was indeed going.

He died August 6th, 1795, at about nine o’clock in
the morning. He left behind him eight children, two
sons and six daughters, who were all grown up.

The Record extracted from the Graduati Canta-
brigienses, at the end of the last Lecture, shews that
Mr. Burly took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1758,
and did not proceed to a higher degree. Another
Samuel Burly, most probably his son, took the same
degree at Magdalen College in 1781. This is all that I
have been able to add to the preceding accounts of
himself and family.

The Rev. Matthew Powley, M.A., 1767 to 1777.

We have already been prepared by the written
testimony of Mr. Burly, to appreciate the excellence
of his successor in the Cure of Slaithwaite, the Rev.
Matthew Powley, who held the same for about ten
years. He was a very superior man, and his memory
is justly cherished. His wife was also a person of
learning and piety. I have heard it said that he took

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

his Hebrew Bible to Church, and she her Greek
Testament. They resided in the old house in Backlane,
which was taken down a few years ago, and he minis¬
tered in the Old Chapel. In his time there was a new
Deed of Trust of the Free School executed, of which
he was ex-officio a Trustee: it bears date Dec. 14th,
1771; and again he continues Trustee, although be¬
come Yicar of Dewsbury, and executed a new Deed
of Trust, in 1784. In June 1775, on the occasion of
a great flood, it appears from several entries in the
Town Books that Mr. Powley preached in the Burial
Croft. The Old Chapel was then liable to these inun¬
dations, which were effectually prevented by the diver¬
sion of the course of the Biver Colne, on the formation
of the Canal, about twenty years afterwards.

Mr. Powley’s very neat hand first appears in the
Begister March 26th, 1768, and continues until June
28th, 1777, when it is succeeded by that of Mr. Wilson,
which is very poor.

Mr. Murgatroyd’s Common Place Books contain re¬
cords of Mr. Powley reading the Articles and a Homily,
(probably that on Justification, referred to in the
Eleventh Article, and entitled “ On the Salvation of
Mankind,”) on his reading himself him ; adding obser¬
vations upon them as he went along. Mr. Murgatroyd
also mentions his first text, 1 Cor. II. ch. ver. 2 — “ I
determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him Crucified,” and many other
similar texts are recorded, which shew the very large
and faithful dispensation of the gospel which the peo-

SLA.ITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

pie then enjoyed ; and Mr. Murgatroyd’s gradual
appreciation and approbation, as before expressed. I
found also in the church an old folio copy of the Book
of Common Prayer, in which are various notes on the
Psalms, in the handwriting of Mr. Powley; and in the
Register Book, a recipe for making ink, which cer¬
tainly proves its own excellence, being, after the lapse
of near a century, black and brilliant as ever.

The Rev. Thomas Wilson became Mr. Powley’s
Curate in 1777, about a year before the latter resigned
Slaithwaite, when appointed to the Vicarage of Dews¬
bury, but he held both livings by dispensation from the
Crown, which was obtained through Lord Dartmouth,
the object being to enable Mr. Wilson to succeed.
Mr. Powley continued to preach occasionally until
1779. On one of these subsequent visits he preached
an emphatic sermon on the words of Zechariah, chap.
I. v. 5, “ Your fathers, where are they ? and the pro¬
phets, do they live for ever ?” I am indebted to the
present Vicar of Dewsbury (Rev. S. P. Field), for the
following information : — “ The tradition here as to his
personal appearance is that he was a tall, thin, pale
man, with dark hair. In his ministration in the pulpit
very energetic, but his voice shrill and unpleasing.
As the verses on the mural tablet in the Chancel seem
to indicate, the parishioners did not esteem him as he
deserved ; partly because he was a preacher of
righteousness in an ungodly generation, and partly
because in the late years of his ministry, he was much
hindered by bodily infirmity, which the good Christians

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

ot those days, as too often in our own time, seemed to
think to he in a clergyman a fault rather than a mis¬
fortune. In the Chancel, too, is an oval-shaped mural
tablet, to the memory of two female servants, for
many years resident in the family. His domestic
habits and ways seem to have been of the plainest and
simplest character.’ *

Mr. Field adds the following copy of the inscrip¬
tion : —

IN MEMORY

OF THE REY. MATT. POWLEY, M.A.,

(29 years Vicar of this Parish),

Born in Westmorland, 1740,

Buried here, 1806.

He lov’d the earth that hated him, the tear
That dropp’d upon his Bible was sincere ;

Assailed by scandal, and the tongue of strife,

His only answer was a blameless life ;

And he that forg’d, and he that threw the dart,

Had each a brother’s interest in his heart !

Paul’s love of Christ, and steadiness imbibed,

Were copied close by him and well transcribed.

He followed Paul, his zeal a kindred flame,

His yearnings o’er immortal souls the same ;

Like him he laboured , and like him unmov’d,

He meekly suffered for the God he lov’d.

In Mr. Venn’s life, page 513, is a letter dated
Sep. 6, 1792, wherein he says, “ Since I began this
letter Mr. Powley is come to see me, and tears filled
his eyes on seeing me so much reduced. We have
had much sweet intercourse together.” There are
also two letters to Mr. Powley from Mr. Venn, in the
same publication.

SLAITHWAITE CHUKCH ANNALS.

To the above memoranda, I am enabled to add the '
following extract from the Life of the Conntesa of
Huntingdon, under the date 1768 : —

“ Her Ladyship’s Chapel (at Bath), was supplied at
the commencement of the year by the Bev. Matthew
Powley, a man of superior talents and distinguished
piety. He had been mentioned to her Ladyship in
terms of approbation by Mr. Venn and Mr. Berridge,
both of whom esteemed him very highly for his inde¬
fatigable diligence and zeal in the service of the Church
of Christ. This was Mr. Powley’ s first introduction
to the congregation at Bath, and it was highly encou¬
raging to him to learn, on his return to Yorkshire,
that the Lord of the Harvest had crowned his labours
with success.”

In a letter from her Ladyship to Mr. Venn, acknow¬
ledging her obligations to him for having recommended
one so able and faithful, she adds, “ Mr. Powley took
his leave on Sunday, in the words of the Apostle,

4 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ &c. It was
one of the most solemn and affecting meetings which
I ever remember to have attended. The Lord was
remarkably present, and the whole congregation
seemed to bow beneath the power of the Spirit. The
unction of the Holy One in a peculiar manner rested
upon his labours here. I have heard of two persons
awakened by his majestic appeals to the conscience,
and trust very many spiritual children from this place
will be his joy and crown of rejoicing in the day of
the Lord.”

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

In another part of the same work we read, “ One of
the benefits which resulted to Mr. Unwin by the
removal of Mrs. Unwin and the Poet Cowper to
Olney, was his acquaintance and intimacy with the
Rev. M. Powley. This gentleman had graduated at
Oxford, and was ordained about the same time with
Mr. Newton, in 1764, and settled within a mile of Dr.
Haweis, in Northamptonshire. He was extremely
intimate with him, and frequently supplied his church
during his absence. “ I trust,” says Mr. Newton,
“ I have provided well for Olney in my absence, by
Mr. Powley ; he is a very valuable young man, he loves
the people and they him, may the Lord bless them
together.” Mr. Powley’s occasional visits to Olney
brought him acquainted with the Unwins, and he
soon learned to indulge an attachment for Miss Unwin,
a young lady of distinguished excellence and piety,
which ended in their union. This amiable woman
survived her excellent husband, and all those interest¬
ing characters with whom she was so intimately
associated in early life, and closed her lengthened
career in Yorkshire, near the scene of her partner’s
labours, in the month of November, 1835, having
attained the advanced age of 89. (See appendix.)

The following account of Mr. Powley, and of his
last moments, extracted from a periodical of the day,
appears in the memoir of his successor, the Rev. John
Buckworth, written by Mr. Stammers, his brother-in-
law : —

“ This truly pious and valuable clergyman was born
at Whale-moor, in the parish of Louther, and county

SLAITHWAITE CHUECH ANNALS.

of Westmorland, Sep. 21, 1740; and, after having
been well grounded in classic literature, at the Gram¬
mar School at Appleby, was admitted of Queen’s
College, Oxford, where he proceeded regularly to the
degree of M.A. Nothing particularly interesting to
the Christian reader can be recorded of him previously
to the commencement of his residence at Oxford.
There it was that he became, for the first time, experi¬
mentally acquainted with religion, and began to bow
the knee of prayer before God, as a sincere and humble
petitioner for mercy through the merits of Christ.
The exceeding sinfulness of sin, the unsatisfying
nature of all sublunary acquisitions and enjoyments,
and the unspeakable importance of an interest in the
redemption of the Son of God, became, not long after
his admission, the subjects of his most serious medita¬
tion ; and the topics on which, from that time, he
chiefly dwelt, in all his communications with God and
man. His attendance on the ministry of a clergyman,
who preached at that time in Oxford with fidelity and
success, must be regarded as the means by which, under
the divine blessing, he was first awakened to a sense
of his spiritual dangers, and brought to the knowledge
of his Saviour, and to the experience of ‘joy and peace
in believing.’ But zeal for the distinguishing doctrines
of the Gospel being a much more rare qualification
half a century ago than it is at present, the opposition
to which it was exposed was, of course, more consider¬
able ; and Mr. Powley was informed by the ruling
members of his college, as soon as his religious senti-

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

ments and attachments were ascertained, that he must
either determine never more to exchange visits with the
clergyman whose ministry had proved so great a blessing
to him, or renounce all hope of academical preferments,
which might otherwise be easily obtained. He hesi¬
tated for a considerable time to make the sacrifice
required of him ; but was at length induced by the
advice of his friends in general, and of the obnoxious
individual himself in particular, to yield in that
instance. He did so. Still, however, his superiors
were dissatisfied; for it was found, that though he
strictly and literally fulfilled his engagements with the
college, he nevertheless persevered in attending upon
the public ministry of his friend. This , therefore, he
was now called upon to renounce, as well as every
other species of intercourse with him — but in vain.
Conscience would admit of no farther compromise
with those who would have substituted gain for godli¬
ness, as the object of his pursuit. The exclusion of
Mr. Powley from such advancement as his college
could bestow, was the consequence of his unshaken
firmness.

“ His conduct on this occasion secured to him the
favourable opinion and good wishes of all pious and
respectable persons who became acquainted with it ;
and it gained him the patronage of a man whose
praise is in the church, and with whom it 'was indeed
an honour to be in any way connected. No sooner
did a late venerable and excellent divine (at that time
vicar of Huddersfield) hear of it, than, with that

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

generosity which ever distinguished him, he instantly
resolved to present Mr. Powley to the first vacant
chapelry which was in the gift of his church. About
three years elapsed from the time of Mr. Powley’s
entering into holy orders, before an opportunity
occurred for the fulfilment of this gentleman’s kind
intentions ; during which period he was employed by
the late Bev. Brook Bridges, as his curate, at Waden-
hoe, in Northamptonshire. But at length the
perpetual curacy of Slaithwaite, in the parish of
Huddersfield, becoming vacant, he was licensed to it,
on the nomination of the vicar, in 1767.

The time of his residence at Slaithwaite he was
always accustomed to consider as the happiest portion
of his life. He was stationed among people who
knew how to estimate his worth ; and his labours
were abundantly blessed to the conversion and edifica¬
tion of his hearers. Soon after this, he was united to
Miss Unwin, daughter of the late Bev. Mr. Unwin, of
Huntingdon, in whose family the poet Cowper was so
kindly sheltered during the years of his adversity.

“ In 1777 Mr. Powley was presented by the King
to the vicarage of Dewsbury, which had been procured
for him by the interest of the late Earl of Dartmouth.
He derived much comfort from the recollection, that
his presentation to Dewsbury came to him perfectly
unsolicited, and without any kind of interference on
his part.”

“ Eor meekness and humbleness of mind, for
sincerity and integrity of heart and life, for love to

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

God and to the souls of men, and for a faithful and
laborious discharge of professional duties, the subject
of this memoir was eminently distinguished. His
latter years, however, notwithstanding the amiable
qualities of his mind, and the Unblameableness of his
life, were rendered extremely painful and distressing
to him, by the perverseness and ingratitude of many
of the people among whom he dwelt and laboured, and
whose welfare was the object, of all others, nearest to
his heart. But it is hoped, that those who opposed
and persecuted him while living , may learn to reverence
his character, and to value the truths which he taught
and exemplified, now that he is no more. Some
appearances of a promising nature are already
discoverable ; and, in compliance with his dying wish,
a petition, drawn up on behalf of his curate, was
signed by upwards of a thousand resident house
keepers, and presented by Mr. Fawkes, one of the
county members, to Lord Grenville, in whom, as
Prime Minister, the right of nomination to the living
on Mr. Powley’s death was vested, who no sooner
understood the object of the petition, than he cheer¬
fully granted it. Mr. Powley therefore had the
heartfelt satisfaction to learn, before he breathed his
last, that at the reguest of his parishioners themselves ,
his living was assured to the very person whom he had
desired to succeed him. "When the tidings reached
him, he had yet strength to exclaim, ‘ Bless God !
Praise God !’ Shortly afterwards he entered into his
rest.”

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Mr. Buckworth, Mr. J ackson, Incumbent of Slaith¬
waite, and Mr. Stammers, all married daughters of
John Halliley, Esq., of Dewsbury; and Mr. Buck-
worth, in consequence, became afterwards connected
with Slaithwaite, and occasionally occupied the pulpit.
His name is well known, as having been the tutor of
Bishop Corrie and many other clergymen eminent in
the missionary field ; and he conducted, for many years,
the Cottage Magazine, one of the earliest and most
successful of the cheap religious periodicals. He was
for a short time curate of St. Chad’s, Shrewsbury,
where I, as a boy, recollect to have seen and heard
him. He was a friend of my parents, and after forty
years had elapsed, on paying a visit to his widow, at
Dewsbury, I was delighted to find on her table a book
on the Pastoral Care, presented in 1813 to Mr.
Buckworth, by my revered father.

You, my dear friends, will excuse these personal
recollections in a lecture, which must derive its chief
interest from similar associations in your own minds
with those who were dear to you, but are now gone
to ** the house appointed for all living.”

In closing this lecture we must gratefully remark
that for an unbroken period of seventeen years, as we
have seen, Slaithwaite was favoured with a full and
clear exposition of the Gospel, under two very eminently
gifted ministers ; scholars and gentlemen, as well as
Christians ; and while mainly anxious for the conversion
of souls, they were sincerely attached to the doctrine
and discipline of the Church of England. The con-

REV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

gregations had become very large, and the chapel very
insufficient, and owing to frequent floods, very ruinous.

Mr. Powley on his appointment to Dewsbury, had
made excellent provision for his Cure at Slaith waite,
by engaging the services of the Eev. Thomas Wilson
as his Curate, until Mr. Wilson was able to take the
living, which in process of time was the case. The
history of Slaithwaite for thirty-two years under the
ministry of this apostolic man, will form the subject
of our next lecture.

In the meanwhile, in the language of the prayer for
the church militant, “ let us bless God’s holy name for
all these his servants departed this life in his faith and
fear, beseeching him to give us grace, so to follow their
good examples, that with them we may be partakers of
his heavenly kingdom.”

Slaithwaite, April 16th, 1863.

August 20th, 1863, I copied the following inscription from the
Monument in Trinity Church, Ripon : —

“ This Tablet is inscribed to
the Memory of

SUSANNAH POWLEY,
only daughter

Of Mrs. Unwin, the friend of Cowper,

and relict of *

The Rev. Matthew Powley, M.A.,

Vicar of Dewsbury.

Her hope had long been fixed on him who is the Resurrection
and the Life,

And she died in peace 9th Nov., 1835,

Aged 89 years.

APPENDIX No. III.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OE LECTURE III.

WILLIAM, SECOND EARL OE DARTMOUTH.

The following are Cowper’s lines in his poem, entitled “ Truth;”
referring to the state of religion among the higher classes in his
day ; happily the number of those among the nobility at the pre¬
sent time, who evince a serious regard for it» interests, is much
greater : —

“ Envy, ye great, the dull unlettered small ;

Ye have much cause for envy — but not all ;

We boast some rich ones whom the gospel sways ;

And one who wears a coronet, and prays ;

Like gleanings of an olive tree, they show

Here and there one upon the topmost bough.”

The allusion in the last line is to Isaiah XVII. 6.

ELLAND SOCIETY.

Several of the students benefitted by this society have returned
the amount in after periods of life. Thus Mr. Marsden’s name
appears in the list of donors for £200.

In the report issued last year is a summary of the history of
the society since its commencement.

Among the lay contributors are, from 1778 to 1798, The Earl
of Dartmouth, £241 10s. ; Sir Richard Hill, £175 ; William
Wilberforce, Esq., £2565 ; Henry Thornton, Esq., £3880 ; among
the Clerical, Rev. Charles Simeon £275 ; &c., ko. These illustrate
Cowper’s gleanings “ on the topmost bough.”

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

REY. HENRY VENN.

The following is a copy of the Monument to this eminent
Divine in Huddersfield Parish Church : —

Sacred to the Memory of the
REV. HENRY VENN,

From 1759 to 1771, Vicar of Huddersfield,

In a dark age of the Church,

He was a burning and a shining light ;

And the people of this place rejoiced in his light.

In affectionate and unwearied labours among them
he spent the vigour of his days ;

Nor resigned the charge

Till compelled by broken health and an enfeebled constitution.
The years of declining life
He passed in comparative retirement,

As Rector of Yelling, Hunts.,

And died June 24th, 1797, at Clapham, Surrey,

Where his mortal remains lie interred, in sure and certain
hope of a glorious resurrection.

On occasion of the re-building of this Church,
Sixty-six years from the close of his Ministrations in it,
His surviving children and grand-children,

Finding his memory still embalmed in the hearts of many
at Huddersfield,

And conscious themselves from an experience,

That has each successive year accumulated,

Of the privilege of such a parentage,

Unite in erecting this tablet
As their testimony to the truth of the promises, that
11 The kindness of the Lord is from generation to generation
upon such as fear him.”

And that

“ The Memory of the just is blessed.”

ioo

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS-

EV. MATTHEW POWLEY.

The following are the entries in Slaithwaite Chapelwardeti’*
accounts referred to : —

£ s. d.

1775, June 9. Cleaning Chapel after flood . 0 4 0

,, ,, 11, A rest to preach on in the burial

croft, after flood . 0 0 4

Again : — <

1777, Aug. 7. Expenses when Mr. Powley
pcht. (preacht) in yc burying
ground after the flood . 0 1 6

It is amusing that about the same time we find the following
entries : —

Wood for Cuck Stool . 0 7 0

Ditto for Whipping Post . 0 3 0

The following is extracted from the Gentleman’s Magazine for
April, 1777

‘ Dispensation. Rev. Matthew Powley, M.A., to hold Dews¬
bury V. with the perpetual Curacy of Slaithwaite, York¬
shire.”

Mr. Murgatroyd’s M.S. contains the following memoranda : —
“At Slaighw1, 26 April, 1767. New Parson’s text, M. 1 Cor.
ii. ch , 2nd verse. V. Heb. vii. ch. 25 v. Sep. 27, M.
Articles 9th, 11th, and a Homily, a text was taken,
Jeremiah, vi. 15. Nov. ye 8th, All the Articles of the
Church read, and observations made of them in the morning.”

“Aug. 22nd, 1779, at Slaithwaite Chapel, Mr. Powley’s
morning text, 1 John, iv. 9 and 10, which is the first time of
my going to Chapel since Dec. 22nd, 1776.” This was the
time of Mr. Murgatroyd’s trouble at Marsden. “ Aug. 29,
at Slaighwaite.”

The Evening Mail of August 24th, 1863, contained the follow¬
ing announcement : —

Died, on the 19tli inst., near Southampton; Mary Anne, wife
of the Rev. Matthew Powley, British Chaplain at Malaga.

LECTURE IV.

Tiie Ret. Thomas Wilson, Cerate and Incum¬
bent, 1777 to 1809. — Ret. Walter Smith,
Curate, 1789 and 1790 — Ret. William Roberts,
Curate, 1805 to 1810.

We have already heard that the excellent and Apos¬
tolic Thomas Wilson, came first to Slaitliwaite in the
character of curate to the Rev. Matthew Powley, in the
year 1777. He was then a poor man, and his first
appearance in the village created some prejudice ; but
he soon proved, that if he was not clothed in purple and
fine linen, he was endued with eloquence of a remark¬
able kind, and such evident sincerity, plain sense, and
spirituality of mind that the confidence he at once
gained, he never lost during the thirty two years of his
Ministry.

Eor ten years he laboured with difficulties of a legal
and local kind, in endeavouring to build the Chapel, or
rather, as it proved, to construct a new one on a much
larger scale, and on a different site. The inhabitants
of Linthwaite and Golcar, were then anxious to claim
an interest in the Chapel ; whilst those of Slaith waite
and Lingards maintained that since the rebuilding of
the Chapel in 1719, they alone had borne the expenses,
and had always maintained it in repair by assessment,
although the other townships had contributed occa¬
sionally by cartage and free labour.

The great success of Mr. Wilson and his immediate
predecessors had been proved by the erection of several

102

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

galleries at different times, which were found insuffi¬
cient, and the Chapel had become prematurely ruinous,
in consequence of the floods, already alluded to, which
inundated the floor and seats ; before the course of the
river was diverted by the construction of the canal
some years after the Chapel was taken down. The
number of communicants was also very great, three
hundred partook : and I find in 1779, an additional
communion cup provided.

Mr. Wilson provided for the better instruction of the
young, by the commencement of Sunday Schools in the
year 1.783, — and they must have been among the
earliest in England ; — and were held in several places, at
private houses, by zealous and pious persons of his con¬
gregation. One especially at Brook Side, in Crimble
Clough (valley) at the house of Benjamin Sykes ; where
a venerable man, named Joseph Mellor, who went on
two crutches, and was carried sometimes on the back of
another person (John Mayall of Vineyard and who died
in 1843) superintended aSunday School on the principles
of the Church. The Psalms and Lessons were read
aloud, prayers and catechism said, accompanied with
sound and earnest religious instruction ; and sometimes
the crutch was used by Mellor, to enforce his argu¬
ments upon the refractory. Another School was held
at Lower Wood in Lingards. These Schools were, in
1800, collected into a large chamber or “ Warehouse,”
near the Bridge, under Joseph Lunn, (recently
deceased) where they continued until 1813, when they
were removed to the large Vestry under the Church,

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

108

and so remained until 1841, (when this National
School was erected,) under the direct superintendence
of the successive Ministers.

At length, owing to the exertions of Mr* "Wilson,
the difficulties were removed, and the site for a new
Church and Churchyard was freely granted by The
Eight Honorable William, Second Earl of Dartmouth,
(before-named as the friend of Venn, Eurly, and
Powley,) at Mallingfield, in Slaithwaite, and conveyed
to Mr. Wilson, and Messrs. Samuel Wood, and
Joseph Eastwood, of Slaithwaite ; John Lawson Yarley,
James Shaw, John and Benjamin Sykes, of Lingards ;
and the Church was finally consecrated, by Archbishop
Markham, August 4th, 1789, while yet unfinished.

The New Structure, plain and substantial in its
character, was very capacious compared with its prede¬
cessor. It was calculated to hold 1360 persons in
pews : all of which were immediately filled with atten¬
tive hearers : even before the building was completed.
Additional accommodation was afterwards provided for
the Sunday Scholars, making the whole about 1500
sittings. The congregations gathered from all the
surrounding country were immense : many came from
Huddersfield ; they stood, it is said, like corn in a
field : sometimes double rows in a seat. There was no
Dissent in the Valley; and no other Evangelical
Preacher. Then were to a great extent realised the
expressions of my familiar poem :

“ They lived in unity and peace
No party discord knew,

Like angel bands in holiness
And ready service too.”

104

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

The families all attended Church who could get
accommodation, and it was a very pleasing sight to
observe them winding down the hills^ (as it still
continues to be) from the remotest habitations of this
scattered district.

The pews in the Old Chapel were removed to the new
one and additional seats constructed. The increased
accommodation, amounting to about 730 sittings, was
disposed of by lot, as freehold by purchase, to form a
fund for the buildiug ; as there were in those days no
Government Grants, no Diocesan or Incorporated
Church Building Societies, or other modern aids to
Church erection ; and as the use of the Church was
not confined to the Ratepayers, it could not be done
equitably by assessment. Occupants of old sittings
continued to pay as before, unless they were also pre¬
viously freehold by custom. This arrangement was
certainly illegal, and unjust to the Minister, who
derived no increase of income from the immense
enlargement of the area of the Church, and consequent
labour in public services and pastoral visitation ; but
in this, as in every thing, Mr. "Wilson shewed his
disinterestedness, aud there was probably no other
way of accomplishing the object of providing for the
people who thronged to his Ministry. The same num¬
ber of sittings were still, and are to this day paid for ;
amounting, at eighteenpence or two shillings (for a
few) per sitting, to about £45 per annum. All the
rest were and continue free from any payment to the
Minister. Mr. Wilson was a man of strong health, of

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

105

plain and frugal habits ; he married a respectable
jyidow, who had some fortune, and whose father, Mr.
Schofield, of Delph in Saddleworth, (called familiarly
Mr. Goodman) assisted Mr. Wilson in building the
convenient house adjoining the Churchyard, in which
the successive Ministers have resided, on a lease
granted by the Earl of Dartmouth, for fifty years,
which expired in 1839, and the house is now the
property of that noble Earl’s descendant.

Mr. Wilson, however, received in 1776 and 1792,
two donations of £200 each, (by lot,) from Queen
Anne’s Bounty ; and with which the farm at Crofthouse
in Scammonden was purchased in 1796 ; but the con¬
veyance was not completed until 1799; and which
added about £20 per annum to the living. This matter
also cost Mr. W. much labour and anxiety, including a
journey to London, in 1799 or 1800 ; and I find from a
memorandum on the back of a document, in Mr.
Wilson’s hand, “ Texts preached at Mr. S. Chapel
“We preach Wisdom to them who are perfect — Aftern.
Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.’* Which I
presume refers to the Lock Chapel, of which the Bev.
Thomas Scott, the Commentator, was Minister.

In all these labours Mr. Wilson was well supported
by the venerable men, who were Trustees with him of
the Church — especially Mr. Wood and Mr. Yarley.
The former laid down all the money for the building,
and received it as it arose from the sale of sittings ;
and in 1791, an organ was added* procured from York,
by those gentlemen, at a cost of one hundred aud forty

106

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

guineas and freight. It was played on by Mr. John
Schofield, a native amateur ' musical genius, from^
that time to his death, May 24th, 1843. He played
previously on a smaller one, making the whole period
of his gratuitous service, fifty-four years — as recorded
on the monument erected to his memory — and whose
noble, original, and effective performances, will be
fresh in the recollection of most of my hearers.

About the year 1799, great distress prevailed in
consequence of bad harvests ; when Mr. Wilson
expended far more than he could spare in the relief
of the sufferers. It is still recollected as “ Barley
time,” and interesting records are found in the “ Town
Books.” (See Appendix.)

Mr. Wilson laboured singly for above twelve years ;
but in 1789 and 1790, was assisted by theEev. Walter
Smith, afterwards Curate of Almondbury ; of whom
I have a brief account in a note on the Funeral Ser¬
mon, preached in 1825, on the death of the Eev. John
Coates, Vicar of Huddersfield, by the Eev. Henry
John Maddock, Incumbent of Trinity Church in that
town. — (See Appendix.) His handwriting appears in
the Eegister from April 1789 to Oct. 31, 1790: and
in Mr. Murgatroyd’s Journal there is also a curious
entry on the subject of his appointment as Classical
Master of Slaithwaite Free School. I have no tradi¬
tional account of Mr. Smith’s Ministry, but the
testimony of the late Eev. James Quarmby, who was
his Scholar, that he discharged his duty in a conscien¬
tious manner. Mr. Smith’s after-life deserves a

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

107

separate notice. His last words were, “ Pardon and
;Peace.”

As before observed, for many years after Mr. Wilson
came, there was no dissent. But about the year 1790,
a Schism was first made in the seamless robe of the
Church, (as Cyprian the Martyred Bishop of Carthage,
in his treatise on the Unity of the Church expresses
it, of the Novatian Heresy) and the history is very
curious. Mr. Wilson had refused to sanction, (as was
then necessary) the renewal of the license of an Inn¬
keeper, on account of some irregularity, and the
Magistrates accordingly would not grant it. At
the same time it happened that Mr. Wilson, who
was a peace-maker, had been called on to settle
a dispute between two neighbours at Clough-house
in Slaithwaite, respecting some hens, which had
“ layed away” in another person’s barn, and who
claimed the eggs. Mr. Wilson decided against this
claim, and in favour of the owner of the hens. The
disappointed party, being offended, united with the
publican ; and when the justices refused the license
for the public-house, the landlord said, “ Then I will
thank you to give me a license for a Dissenting
Meeting-house.” To this purpose his principal room
was devoted, fetching the Baptists from Salendine
Nook ; and thus, it has been facetiously observed,
“ Schism was literally hatched in Slaithwaite : they
layed away then, and have layed away ever since.”

Now, however, Mr. Wilson’s real troubles began.
His soul was much grieved, when several of his most

108

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

respectable followers forsook Lira, and walked no more
with him ; and be said to others “ will ye go away
also ?” It is probable that the cause was partly that,
while Mr. Wilson was sound and Evangelical in all his
views, he was most practical also in his applications.
But he did not make the doctrine of Election so
prominent as some of these persons desired ; and with
“high doctrine,” were also imbibed objections to
Infant Baptism, and other ordinances of the Church,
which Mr. Wilson met in his plain and effective
manner. The rite of circumcision was shewn to be
analogous to Baptism ; and he asked, if Isaac and the
Children of the Jews were fitter for admission into
the Church of God at eight days old, upon the faith
of their parents, than Christian children now.

Thus, however, commenced the first separation, and
it resulted in the erection of a Meeting-house of the
Particular Baptists at Powle Moor, in Scammonden,
in 1790; and from which a still more extreme and
exclusive party, denying the Law as a Pule of Life,
seceded in 1816, and raised Providence Chapel, at
Ingnook in Linthwaite; both adjoining the boundaries
of Slaithwaite as near as possible, though in opposite
directions, as no site, could be obtained within the
Chapelry. Previous to this dissent the families all
attended Church, morning and afternoon, and I believe
were collected frequently at home in the Sunday
Evenings ; and around the hearth were questioned as
to the lessons, texts, and sermons, and catechized by
their parents; —a very wholesome custom, which, if

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

109

general, would render Evening Services unnecessary
in a great degree, as they are in many cases of doubtful
advantage to the young. Mr. "Wilson also catechized
frequently after the second lesson in Afternoon Service,
and weekly in the Eree School.

Mr. Wilson lost his excellent wife October 2nd,
1792, in the 46th year of her age. He had no Curate
of whom we have any record from 1790 until 1805 ;
but the late Miss Armitage, of Honley, (foundress of
the Churches at Milnsbridge and Brockholes) informed
me that the Eev. Mr. Westerman was Curate of
Slaithwaite and Master of the School for one or two
years ; and I find in the Eegister a strange hand from
May 7th, 1791, to September in the same year. In
1805 the Eev. William Eoberts became Mr. Wilson’s
assistant, and resided with him, as Timothy to Paul, a
Sonin the Gospel. He obtained the very general love
and attachment of the people, and is still remembered
by many. I rejoice to say that he is still living as
Eector of Eadwell, Herts, and I have the pleasure of
his correspondence. He remained with Mr. Wilson
until his death ; when there was considerable disap¬
pointment that he was not chosen as his successor.
Mr. Wilson continued his labours until about six
months before he dropped the mantle of mortality.
His last Sermon was from Isaiah XLV. 22 — “ Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth,”
and I am told that he climbed the pulpit steps on his
hands and knees to deliver his parting message.

Mr. Wilson was very active for many years, he rode
great distances, and nothing daunted by wet weather,

110

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

was in the habit of walking about in a cloak and a pair
of pattens. His presence created respect in the most
ungodly : the drunken and profane would hide them¬
selves when he came in sight. He visited every “ fold”
frequently, and would collect the inhabitants into
some house, when he would read the Scriptures and
pray ; and that with such earnestness that he could be
heard a long distance. I have been told this, not only
by old inhabitants, but also by our good Archdeacon,
Dr. Musgrave, and his late most Reverend Brother the
Archbishop of York ; both of whom, being Scholars
at Birstall, were in the habit of attending Slaithwaite
Church whilst spending their holidays at Marsden, with
Mr. Horsfall, the gentleman who was shot by the
Luddites in 1812. They were deeply impressed by
Mr. Wilson’s solemnity in private prayer, and have
ever shewn great interest in Slaithwaite and its
spiritual good.

Mr. Wilson was plain and earnest in his style, and
very energetic and loud in his pulpit ministrations, and
would stamp and thunder, as well as sometimes weep,
and use the most tender persuasions. He was probably
an instance of what Dr. Johnson gives as the cause of
the success of the early Methodists. “ Sir, it is owing to
their expressing themselves in a plain and familiar
manner, which is the only way to do good to the
common people, and which Clergymen of genius and
learning ought to do from a principle of duty, when
it is suited to their Congregations.

He was very graphic, and full of illustrations in his
preaching ; idiomatic and well understood in his

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

Ill

language, being an indigenous Yorkshireman, a stone
mason by original trade.

He was most faithful in dealing with his parish¬
ioners in his pastoral visitations.

A late well-known tradesman in Huddersfield, who
married Mr. Wilson’s niece, and was descended from
the ancient family of Dyson, of High Westwood, in
Golcar, told me in 1840, that he was converted through
Mr. Wilson’s Ministry ; and that the first impression
was made by a conversation with him. He then
resided at Crimble, and was found at the loom, where
Mr. Wilson having, according to his custom, called
for a suspension of the “din” of business; addressed
him, “ John, when you have done that piece, and cut
it off, what will there be left ? Why Thrums, Sir !
(I need not explain to you my friends, that these are
the rough ends of the Cloth, by which it is attached to
the loom ; but which are alluded to Isaiah XXXVIII.
12. Thou hast cut off as a weaver my life, or in the
margin “ From the Thrum.”) “ Well! and when you
have run through your present wild life, John, what
will there be left but thrums, ? A ruined body and a
damned soul !” The impression never left him — and
he told me that he removed to Huddersfield, where he
prospered in business, and had originally become a
Wesleyan, because he could not obtain accommodation
in the Parish Church. He ultimately, in 1839, pro¬
moted the building of the “ Wesleyan Centenary
Chapel,” in the part of Linth waite which adjoins
Slaithwaite ; in which former township we shall find

112

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

that Wesleyan Methodism made an entrance at Hoyle-
house Clough some years after Mr. Wilson’s death,
in the time of Mr. Walter.

It is a curious illustration of the history of dissent
that the Baptist Meeting, at Powle Moor, was partly
constructed out of the old timber of Slaithwaite Chapel,
which was taken down about two years before, having
been purchased by a builder, who afterwards became
one of the seceders. Truly the ancient and sound
parts of their system have been borrowed from “ the
Church of our Fathers !”

Mr. Wilson’s doctrine may be judged of from the
fact that he was the means of several copies of Matthew
Henry’s Commentary on the Bible being purchased
by the people ; he much promoted family worship, and
the devout keeping of the Lord’s day. Mr. Wilson
died on the 2nd of July, 1809, in his 65th year,

The Register of his burial, in the handwriting of
Mr. Roberts, is as follows : —

“ 1809. July 5th. The Revd. Thos. Wilson, 32 years a labori¬
ous and successful Minister of the Gospel in Slaithwaite.
He was greatly beloved by the flock over which he presided,
and much respected by all true lovers of godliness, who had
the happiness of his acquaintance.”

His character is also very briefly, but expressively
summed up in the Inscription on a Marble Tablet in
our Chancel.

<( An Israelite indeed.”

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

113

It is more elaborately set forth in the poetical
Inscription on the Tombstone in the Old Burial Croft,
probably composed by the Rev. W. Smith.

“Go feed my Lambs,” the heavenly Shepherd cried,

“ Go feed my Lambs ” again that voice replied ;

Firm to his trust, a servant here is laid,

Who heard the tender precept and obeyed ;

Back to green pastures, he the wanderers led,

The weakly foster’d and the hungry fed,

Rebuk’d the bold, but bid the timid rise,

And gave new strength and wisdom to the wise.

Farewell, blest Spirit ; for a toil like this
Thy Lord shall lead thee by the streams of bliss,

And give thee, guided by his staff and rod,

To join thy flock again, and see thy God.

As Mr. Wilson was very early in adopting the great
institution of Sunday Schools, which has taught the
whole population in this Riding to read the Bible ; so
that one who is “ not a scholar,” is now a rare exception,
so he embraced the cause of Missions in its revival, at
the opening of the present century. I learn from a
statement recently published, that in 1803, a Sermon
was preached in Slaith waite Church, on behalf of the
Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East,
then in the fourth year of its existence; and ten
pounds were collected. It will be seen in my next
Lecture, that an Association was formed in 1813 ;
which has therefore existed fifty years ; and the
interest in the cause, which is still felt, is of above
sixty years growth.

Mr. Wilson had no family ; but his sister Elizabeth
married Mr. William Yarley, Schoolmaster, and they
were the parents of Mrs. Jane Dyson, of Hudders¬
field ; and who has lately deceased, leaving a large

114

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

family of children and grandchildren. One of her
daughters married Thomas Mallinson, Esq., Justice of
the Peace for Huddersfield ; who died at Dublin, and
received a public burial at Huddersfield, in the present
month of April, 1863. To Mrs. Dyson I was indebted
for the loan of the black profile of Mr. Wilson, with
which I illustrate this Lecture : she was a pious and
venerable Christian : and she rests with her husband
within the site of the Ancient Chapel.

Mr. Wilson resided for several years in the Old
House in Backlane, and built an additional chamber,
looking into the Churchyard ; which was his study :
and where the late beloved Mr. Eichard Yarley, then
a boy, was his companion, after he lost his wife.

I have thus, according to my custom in these Lectures,
given you all that I have been able to collect from
personal search : and I shall now close with the testi¬
monies which I have gathered from other sources.

Like his gracious Saviour Mr. Wilson has had (in
the language of Dr. Ellicott) four “ loving pictures
limned by four loving hands”

In Nov. 1862, I received the following message
from the Eev. William Eoberts, through Frederick
Eobert Jones, Junior, Esq., of Huddersfield: — “If
ever you see Mr. Hulbert, of Slaithwaite, give my
love to him, and tell him the Old Curate of Slaithwaite
is well and often prays for him and his flock, that he
looks back with pleasure upon the five years he spent
there.” I sent him a letter and several reports and
other papers, and received a most interesting reply

REV. THOMAS WILSON,

Minifter of Slaithzvaite, 1777 to 1809,

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

115

(see Appendix) in which he refers me to the account
of Mr. Wilson, which he furnished to the Cottage
Magazine, dated Market Bosworth, January 10th, 1812.
It is as follows : —

“ The Bev. T. Wilson was born of respectable
parents in the North- Biding of Yorkshire, and having
felt the power of religion at an early period of life, he
became very desirous of devoting himself to God in
the work of the ministry. Accordingly he was placed
under the care of the late Bev. Mr. Milner, at the
grammar-school, in Hull ; where through close applica¬
tion to his studies, he prepared for holy orders. These
he obtained at the hands of Dr. Drummond, the then
Archbishop of York. The first place of his labours
was (as I have heard him with pleasure relate) at
Collingham, a small parish near the place of his
nativity. Here it pleased God to bless his labours to
the conversion of many souls, and to make him an
instrument of much good to the congregation at large.
His residence at this village, however, did not continue
many years, Providence having designed him for a
much more extensive field of action. The perpetual
curacy of Slaithwaite, in the West-Biding of York¬
shire, becoming vacant in the year 1777, through the
resignation of the Bev. Matthew Powley, the late
vicar of Dewsbury, Mr. Wilson was then presented to
it. He entered upon this his new charge, with a mind
deeply impressed with its awful responsibility. Here,
as in his former situation, he was “ instant in season
and out of season/’ bearing in mind the high commission

116

SLAITII WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

with which he was entrusted ; namely, “ to seek
for Christ’s sheep, which are scattered abroad through¬
out this naughty world, and to labour to bring them
to a state of perfection in him, who is the head of his
body, the church.” The salvation of his flock was,
indeed, ever uppermost in his thoughts, and to promote
their good he left no means untried. Not only did he
regularly preach twice every Sabbath, in the most
earnest and affectionate manner, but he also made it
his constant practice to visit his people from house to
house, in order to administer admonition and consola¬
tion, as occasion required. This he considered so
necessary a part of a minister’s duty, that he was
used to say, Where it was neglected, the ministry
could not be properly fulfilled.

In addition to his daily visits, and public preaching,
he was accustomed to meet a select party of his people
every Wednesday evening at his own house, for the
purpose of instructing them in the concerns of their
souls. His usual method on these occasions, was
either expounding the Scriptures in the plainest and
most familiar manner, or reading in some good book,
which was generally preceded by, and accompanied
with, singing and prayer. These were often delightful
seasons both to himself and his people. They were
the means of keeping up the life of religion in the
soul, and of often fanning the feeble spark (which
before the next Sabbath might have been almost
extinguished) into a flame. So precious were those
seasons to my own soul, that I frequently look back

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

117

upon them with the most heartfelt pleasure ; and I
cannot but wish that a similar method of instructing
their flocks was more generally adopted by good men
than it is. "Were this the case, no doubt, very happy
consequences would ensue, and it would certainly be
strictly conformable to the apostle’s advice, “ not to
forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the
manner of some is, but to exhort one another daily,
while it is called to-day, lest any of us should be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

While speaking of my dear friend as a minister, I
cannot forget to mention his attention to the younger
branches of society. No man was perhaps fonder of
young people, nor took more pains than himself, both
in instructing them, and in exhorting their parents to
“ train them up in the way they should go.” When¬
ever he had an opportunity, whether at home or
abroad, it was his constant endeavour to say something
to impress their minds with the value of their souls,
and the importance of eternity. Often have I heard
him make use of such like expressions as these, when
addressing himself to young persons. Now give Grod
your heart, and devote to him your life. Remember
your sun may go down at noon. Take, therefore, my
advice, “ Choose with Mary that good part which shall
never be taken away.”

With respect to his religious sentiments , they were
purely evangelical. The guilty and ruined state of
man by nature — the grand method of his recovery
through the atoning blood and righteousness of Christ,

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SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

and the happy consequences of such recovery, both in
this world, and in that which is to come, where the
principal subjects of his preaching, subjects on which
he expatiated with a zeal and ardour rarely equalled.
If there be one thing which he enforced more than
another, it was the necessity of holiness of heart and
life. This, however, he always did in a scriptural
manner. Man, as separated from Christ, the true
vine, he constantly maintained, “can do nothing.”
His first aim therefore was to lead the sinner to Christ,
that he might be justified by faith in his sacrifice ; and
then to build him up in every Christian grace, by
exhorting him to live out of himself upon the fulness
of his Redeemer, as the only way of becoming faithful
in every good word and work, and of growing in a
meetness for heaven. In short, he strongly and con¬
stantly insisted on the necessity of receiving the Lord
Jesus equally in all his offices; as our prophet to
teach us, as our priest to atone for us, and as our king
to govern us, swaying the sceptre of his grace in our
hearts, and bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of himself.

Of the great success which attended his labours at
Slaithwaite and in the neighbourhood, numbers who
yet survive him can, from their own experience, stand
forth and gratefully testify ; and there is every reason
to hope, that very many who died in the Lord before
him, will at the last day be the joy and crown of his
rejoicing.

Respecting his conduct as a Christian, he was most
exemplary. Never, perhaps, did any man exemplify in

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

119

his own life what he preached to others, more than he
did. With the greatest propriety could he adopt St.
Paul’s address to the Corinthians, in reference to the
people of his charge, “ Brethren, be followers of me,
even as I also am of Christ.” That he had drunk
deep into the spirit of his Divine Master, was evident
from the heavenly dispositions which discovered them¬
selves in him. Humility, meekness, modesty, and a
train of other lovely virtues, shone forth in him in
their brightest lustre. Of these I am perhaps better
capable of speaking than most persons, having had the
happiness of residing in the house with him as his assis¬
tant, during the four last years of his life. Towards
me he always behaved with the kindness of a father,
and would frequently express his fervent wish, that we
might both obtain mercy of the Lord, to be faithful to our
important trust. Towards the poor of his flock, his
benevolent heart was frequently and largely extended.
Many of these will have cause to remember him as
long as they live ; for when in a time of scarcity a
few years ago, they were almost in a state of starva¬
tion, he exerted himself to the utmost to relieve their
wants, and to keep them from perishing. The many
acts of kindness indeed which they experienced from
him were really astonishing, considering the smallness
of his income ; and must in a great degree be attri¬
buted to the economy of a faithful female servant, who
had many years lived with him, as well as to his own
frugality and temperance. To conclude this part of
his character, be it observed, that, like his Lord and

120

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Master, he went about doing good both to the bodies
and souls of men, or to use the language of Goldsmith :

“He tried each art, reproved each dull delay,

Allur’d to brighter worlds, and led the way.”

I now proceed to notice his last illness and death.
For some time before his public work was ended, he
had been gradually declining in health. He was
unwilling, however to discontinue his favourite employ,
so long as he possibly could ascend the pulpit. The
last time he publicly addressed his flock, was on the
third Sunday in Advent, 1808, from “ Look unto me
and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth.” A fitter
subject than which he could not perhaps have chosen,
had he known it to have been his last. He left the
pulpit as well as usual, and continued in that state
till the Tuesday morning following, when he was
disabled from coming down stairs by a paralytic stroke.
He had often wished that, if it pleased God, he might
end his labours and his life together, and seemed to
have a dread upon his mind of becoming, as he termed
it, a trouble to his friends through an inability to help
himself. But the Almighty, whose thoughts are not
as our thoughts, did not see fit to grant him this
desire. For he had appointed him to remain yet full
six months longer upon earth, in order no doubt to
try his faith and patience, and to refine and make him
thoroughly meet for the enjoyment of his heavenly
kingdom. The discipline with which he was exercised,
during this time, was not very severe, as he was
generally enabled to rise from his bed during the day,

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

121

to eat his meals tolerably well, and to walk about in
his room by means of a little help. His affliction was
doubtless a trial of his faith and patience, as just hinted,
but God was with him under it, in an eminent degree,
and fulfilled in his experience the truth of that gracious
promise — “ As thy day is, so shall thy strength be.”
Residing under his roof, I had frequently an oppor¬
tunity of observing, how much his mind was stayed
upon the God of his salvation, and with what truly
Christian resignation he was enabled to submit to the
will of his heavenly Father. One day in particular, I
recollect I said to him, after my return from visiting
some sick people, “ I hope, Sir, you find the Lord your
support and consolation.” He replied, “ I do, he is
my light and my salvation.” At another time, on my
return home, I found his mind sweetly dwelling on his
favourite text, “ Blessed are the people that know the
joyful sound ; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of
thy countenance,” &c. He had, it is true his cloudy
seasons as well as his bright ones ; but upon the whole
he was carried on in a sweet and tranquil manner,
until it pleased God to take from him the faculty of
speech, which happened four days before his dissolution !
On the morning of the day when this took place, I had
to go to Huddersfield with the young people to the
confirmation, and before I left home, I found my dear
friend extremely heavy and scarcely able to sit upright
in his chair. I took him by the hand and said, “ The
Lord be with you, Sir to which he immediately
replied, “ The Lord go with you.” These were bis

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SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

last words to me, as I found him speechless on my
return, though perfectly sensible ; for, on my sitting
down by his side, he presently looked up, and on seeing
me he began to weep. From this time, which was on
Thursday evening, he continued until the Sunday
following, gradually getting worse, and in the evening
about six o’clock be resigned his happy soul into the
hands of his blessed Redeemer, to partake of that
glory and endless felicity of which he had, as on this
day, often spoken with so much delight. His remains
were interred on the Wednesday following, amidst the
tears and lamentations of hundreds of his beloved
people, who, for several hours previous to his inter¬
ment, had assembled together to witness the affecting
scene. A very appropriate sermon was preached in
reference to his character and death, a few Sundays
after, to a most crowded and attentive audience, by
the Rev. Mr. Robinson, of Longwood, from St. Paul’s
words to Timothy, “ I have fought a good fight,” &c.

To the foregoing narrative, which was reprinted by
the late Rev. Nicholas Padwick, B.A., Incumbent of
Linthwaite, in his Christian Monitor for Peb. and
March 1833, I must secondly add the testimony of
another intimate friend and former Curate, the Rev.
Walter Smith ; published in a small Tract, entitled a
“Memoir of the Rev. T. Wilson, thirty-two years
Minister of Slaighwaite, written by the Rev. Mr. S —
to which is added a Character” — Huddersfield: Printed
by T. Smart, Bookseller, 1810. “ The Character”

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

123

added consists of an “ Address to youth of both "sexes,
more especially those belonging to the Sunday School,
Slaigh waite.”

“ Mr. Wilson was possessed of strong faith in the
divine word, a fervent love of God and Christ, and a
lively sense of the vast worth of men’s souls. During
his whole ministry he was a most diligent preacher,
uncommonly zealous in his manner, and remarkably
plain and pointed in his addresses to men’s consciences.
His praise, not as a scholar indeed, but as a good
minister of Jesus Christ, will long continue to be
heard through a large and populous district His
simplicity and godly sincerity were admitted and
admired by great numbers, who could not be prevailed
upon, by his tears and entreaties, to forsake their sinful
courses ; — nevertheless, he has- left behind him many
seals of his ministry ; and many, it is believed, con¬
verted by his means, died before him, in faith, and
most joyfully received his spirit into the heavenly
habitations. He lived down prejudice and slander in
a very uncommon degree: his rule and his practice
were, To overcome evil by doing good. He was
eminently a man of peace : he loved it in his heart, —
he sought it earnestly ; — but this divine and amiable
disposition did not damp his zeal for the cause of God,
and his concern to save men’s souls. He boldly
rebuked sin ; he shewed his abhorrence, particularly,
to that destructive vice of drunkenness, so prevalent
in manufacturing places, which robs so many of the
lower orders, not only of their comforts, but of the

124

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

necessaries of life. He kept a watchful eye over public-
houses ; — he felt and frequently expressed the deepest
sorrow (and his regrets were not always unavailing) at
the irregularities and excesses which occurred in those
places, and especially on Sunday evenings. Many
nights of broken rest did he pass, occupied with
reflections on the depravity, blindness, and madness
of sinners, who were treasuring up to themselves
wrath against the day of wrath, while they despised
or neglected all his warnings, — his warm, vehement,
affectionate appeals to their consciences !

The love and attachment of Mr. Wilson to the
Established Church was unquestionable : he loved its
order, its doctrines, and its services. The unity, peace,
and concord of all good men were also most devoutly
desired by him ; for the attainment of which he seemed
ready to make any sacrifice short of villifying the
church to which he belonged.

As Mr. Wilson loved the doctrines and the order of
the church, of which he was a minister, so he was
uniformly and exemplarily zealous in supporting the
state, of which he was a subject. He had well weighed
and appreciated the advantages of our civil constitu¬
tion. Thankful, in the highest degree, for such
privileges as those which each British subject is heir
to, and which have been so invariably maintained
under the mild and equitable government of our
present Sovereign, he abhorred from his soul all the
attempts which have been made, of late years, to
render the people dissatisfied and disaffected. He

REV. THOMAS WILSON.

125

saw it his duty frequently to preach the scriptural
doctrine of obedience to rulers ; and wondered how
any man, professing to fear God, could withhold honour
from the king.

All his doctrine, and the regulation ol his practice,
he derived from the Bible, in which he meditated day
and night. To constant meditation on the Scriptures,
he added much prayer ; indeed, he was most eminently
a man of prayer. He carried all his wants, his diffi¬
culties, his doubts, his fears, his distresses, to the
throne of grace, relying on the merits and intercession
of his Redeemer. He knew the value of this privilege,
and seemed to be lifting up his heart to Heaven all
the day long. In this frame he passed through the
long and arduous trial of his patience, with which it
pleased God to visit him. 1 He was dumb and opened
not his mouth,’ because it was his doing.

Much might be said of his affection to his people,
and his kindness and liberality to the poor and neces¬
sitous; suffice is to say, his people were his flock.
Few, I apprehend, have done more in his circumstances,
at any time, to relieve the distressed : and yet, not in¬
discriminately. or on great occasions only, but discreetly
and gradually, both by counsel and by money. Though
he loved order and neatness, and shewed that he was
not destitute even of a taste for elegance, yet it plainly
appeared that the wants of the poor occupied his
thoughts more than his own accommodation. He
was always ready, after the example of his beloved
Master, to deny himself for their sakes ; and, for Higf

126

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

sake indeed, it not unfrequently happened that he was
constrained, by sights of distress, or the importunities
of those who had experienced his liberality, to give the
last piece of silver he had ; — he, however, was wont to
say, it was not the duty of ministers who had families,
to do as he did. To such persons he recommended
their making a due provision for their children out of
their incomes, whenever God put it in their power.
Instead of children to perpetuate his memory, this
good man left behind him a new and spacious edifice
for divine worship, built at his solicitation, and on
which he bestowed much care, time, and labour ; and,
adjoining to it, a neat and convenient parsonage-house,
erected at his own expence, for the better accommoda¬
tion of his successors.

Mr. Wilson was somewhat advanced in life when
he first turned his thoughts towards the ministry ; and
he had not had the advantage of a regular classical
education. A clergyman of Leeds, of a kindred spirit,
beheld in his fervent piety the dawning of singular
usefulness, and put him in the way of obtaining holy
orders. He applied himself to the study of the
languages, and was ordained to a curacy near Wetherby,
Yorkshire. There his ardent spirit laboured diligently ;
and much concern about religion appeared in many of
his congregation. Some things there were, however,
disagreeable to him in that situation ; and, on the
removal of the late Mr. Powley to Dewsbury, Mr.
Wilson, through his means, became curate of Slaigh-
waite. Here he found a numerous congregation, a

REV. THOMAS WILSOtf.

127

plain people, who were not offended at his plain
preaching ; and among them he determined to ' spend
and be spent.’

A short time after he settled at this place, he married
a widow lady, possessed of a moderate fortune, who
resided in the neighbourhood. While her virtues
made his home agreeable, her fortume enabled him to
be charitable in his daily visits among his people.
This union, however, did not continue long: in the
course of a few years he was left a widower, and so
remained to his death, a pattern of unblameable purity
and sobriety.

In his deportment, Mr. Wilson was grave without
affectation or moroseness, and cheerful without levity.
His freedom of manner, openness of heart, and good
humour, rendered him a welcome visitor at the houses
of his acquaintances, rich and poor, learned and un¬
learned. His conversation was diversified by pleasant
anecdote, and rendered edifying by profitable remarks,
happily introduced. * This truly excellent man of God
(added the gentleman who wrote this memoir) was my
counsellor and most intimate friend during twenty
years. I call to remembrance, with comfort and
gratitude to God, that 1 was ordained to his curacy,
which opened the way to a friendship which has never
been interrupted. I have fully known, therefore, his
doctrine, his manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suf¬
fering, charity, patience, afflictions. I believe, indeed,
he had, in common with all the servants of God, the
corruption and infirmities of our nature. He

128

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

acknowledged to me, in the strongest terms, on the
Sunday preceding his death, his sinfulness and un¬
worthiness. He fought a good fight, and now has
finished his course. The tears of numerous spectators,
as well as those who carried him to the grave, testified
the love and veneration they had for him : all seemed
to say (men, women, and children, individually) 1 Let
me die the death of this righteous man, and let my
end be like his !’ ”

The third account of Mr. Wilson is contained in
the Memoirs of the Countess of Huntingdon. It is
chiefly taken from Mr. Eoberts’s narrative, but adds
the following remarkable fact relative to his history
previous to his coming to Slaithwaite :

“ Whilst at Collingham, near Wetherby, Mr. Wilson
received a visit from Lady Huntingdon, in the course
of her numerous rambles through Yorkshire ; and
her advice and conversation were of great benefit in
exciting him to greater diligence and zeal in the
discharge of the duties of his function.”

The fourth account has been given in the earlier
part of this Lecture ; and I trust the whole may tend
to perpetuate the memory of so good a man ; and I
will conclude with a part of the Lesson with which
this Lecture was introduced — “ Thus saith the Lord,
Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
ye shall find rest for your souls.” — Jeremiah vi. 16.

Slaithwaite, April 30th, 1863.

APPENDIX No. IV.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF LECTURE IV.

POWLE CHAPEL.

May 2nd, 1863, I obtained the following information from the
Rev. Henry Wilcock Holmes, the present pious and laborious
Mimster at Powle Particular Baptist Chapel, which was built on
a much larger and handsomer scale than the old one, in 1859 :

“ The first Minister was the Rev. Charles Bamforth, from 1793
to 1804 ; previous to whom they had no regular supply. He is
buried at Powle, and was succeeded by the Rev. Abraham
Webster, from 1808 to 1817; when he went away for four
years and a half ; and then returned for a like period : making
his Ministry altogether fifteen }rears at Powle, where he died and
was buried. Mr. Holmes has been there for thirty-four years,
1829 to 1863.”

GREA.T SCARCITY.

The following are extracts from the Slaithwaite town Books :

“17th Augt., 1799. A very heavy flood which swept away
the Com Mill Dam, the Old Chapel-yard, Two houses at
Bridge-end in Lingards, and did great damage to corn and
hay : a very dear time succeeded.”

“ 18th Augt., 1899. The Reservoir frightened many of the
householders from their habitations.”

“ 30th Augt., 1799. Another great flood, which did much
damage to the Canals, Mill dam broke again.”

“ 8 Sep., 1799. Oats cut at Crimble, being the first here cut.”

“ 22 Sep., 1799. Another great flood, which broke the wall
in the Old Chapel-yard a second time, and did much damage ;
this was said to be the heaviest flood in many places of the
Country — A grievous time succeeded.”

“Oatmeal rose to Twenty Shillings for 48lbs- (a hoop) and
Wheat the same in 1799 and 1800, and sunk to 7s- 6d- and
9s* 6d- in 1801.”

130

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

REV. WALTER SMITH.

The following is a note appended to the Funeral Sermon, on
the death of the Rev. John Coates, Vicar of Huddersfield, by
the Rev. Henry John Maddock, in 1825 :

“The Rev. Walter Smith, A.B., Curate of Almondbury, died at
Huddersfield, October 2nd, 1821, after a few days’ illness, on
his way from Cambridge, whither he had been to introduce
his Son. He was born at Bramham, in this County, A.D.
1764, entered at Magdalen College, Cambridge, where he
took his Bachelor’s degree, 1787, and was ordained soon
after to assist the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of Slaithwaite, near
Huddersfield, where he remained two years ; he was after¬
wards Curate of Rastrick, and then of Huddersfield, for five
years. In 1796, he went to Almondbury, and was elected
Master of the Grammar School, which situation and curacy
he held until his unexpected and lamented death.”

The following view of his character is from the pen of a Clergy¬
man, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Smith from his
youth, and well knew how to estimate his worth :

“ In Mr. Smith the established Church has lost a faithful
pastor ; the King a loyal subject ; his family an affectionate
protector ; mankind a friend ; and Christianity an ornament.
His death therefore, in the midst of life, is deeply deplored
by his relatives, and will long be unfeignedly regretted by
all persons to whom he was. known.”

The following is the inscription on his tombstone in Almondbury
Churchyard :

Beneath this stone is interr’d the body of the
REV. WALTER SMITH, B.A.,

25 years Curate of this Parish and 17 years
Master of the Grammar School,

He died October 29th, 1821,

Aged 56 years.

His last words were “ Pardon and Peace.”

With reference to his appointment as Classical Master of
Slaithwaite Free School, we have the following entry in Mr.
Murgatroyd’s J ournal :

After an advertisement being inserted in the public papers, I
find, 1790, Feb. 24, “They are met at Landlord Sykes’s to¬
day to appoint a Master of Slaighwte School, to succeed Mr.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

131

Jno. Boulton — but I’m informed two letters, one from Mr.
Powley, and one from Mr. Ramsden, the Vicar of Hudders¬
field, have been read to ye company in opposition — Rev. Mr.
Greenwood’s son from Thornhill offer’d himself as a Candi¬
date — then chops in a Smith, ye assistant Curate at Slaighwte
Chapel to stand Candidate for the School — Shameful work !
N.B. — Mr. Greenwood’s Son, I'm informed is a very proper
person — able in figures &c. — Interlined, I’m informed again
quite otherwise.”

Evidently here the contradiction, as to the Election of Master,
existing in the two distinct Trust Deeds of Endowment, caused a
difference. This has been remedied— but only in 1859, seventy
years afterwards, by the New Scheme of the Charity, sanctioned
by law. „

Mr, Smith’s second daughter, Catherine, and Phillis his Widow,
lie with him. The latter died May 30, 1830, aged 65 years.

Mr. Smith resided in the Vicarage at Almondbury, and at first
had only £40 per annum. He took pupils, chiefly young men,
preparing for orders — among whom was the Rev. J. G. Breay, of
Birmingham, whose Memoirs have been published. He was a
truly pious man. Edmund Smith, Esq., Surgeon of the Hydro¬
pathic Establishment, Ilkley Wells, is his son — and one of his
daughters married the Rev. Charles Seager, of Oxford, who, in
1843, seceded to the Church of Rome, as did his wife. Mr. Seager
was a good Hebrew Scholar, and published a Translation of
Simon’s Hebrew Lexicon.

REV. WILLIAM ROBERTS.

This good man became Mr. Wilson’s Curate in 1805, and
is now Rector of Radwell, Herts.

I find in the Register Book —

Christenings by Wm. Roberts, Curate, 1805, July 20 —
and continued, (after Mr. Wilson’s death) until May 14, 1810,
when I read —

“ Christenings by the Revd Mr. Chew,” same day with
one by Mr. Roberts. Among the earliest is that of the Rev. R.
E. Roberts, M.A., now Rector of Richmond, in this County, son
of the late Mr. and Mrs Joseph Roberts, of Height, in Linth-
waite, who died there the same day, February 18th, 1853, and
are buried in our Churchyard. “They were lovely and pleasant
in their lives and in their death they were not divided.” 2 Sam.
ii. 23.

132

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

In a letter from the Rev. Win, Roberts, dated Nov. 17, 1862 —
He says, “ I thank you for your sympathy with me in my
infirmities, which though painful at times, are I trust sanctified
in a good manner, and I would beg an interest in your
prayers, that my faith may daily increase and that God may
he glorified in me and by me. To such of you people as have
a lively recollection of me, I send my Christian love, and if
I had it in my power to address them. I should say as Moses
was directed to say to the Children of Israel, “ Dear friends,
Go forward — press towards the mark — Be diligent that ye
may be found of Christ, without spot and blameless.” Tell
them that God is very good to their old Curate, and enables
him, at the approach of 84, yet to preach occasionally the
same blessed Gospel — that he preached to them.”

In a subsequent letter dated Dec. 11th, 1863, he expresses,
with wonderful vigour and clearness, his interest in the various
plans in operation among us, of which I had sent him Reports
&c., and his desire to see this publication. May he be spared
to see its conclusion !

The late Rev. Samuel Longhurst, M.A., a nephew of Mr.
Roberts, succeeded the celebrated Dr. Wolff, as Incumbent of
Linthwaite, in 1840 ; but owing to unhappy circumstances,
resigned in 1850, and died at Peel in the Isle of Man, May 1851.
He was of Queen’s College, Cambridge ; a good Hebrew and
Oriental Scholar; and published, in 1833, “A Common Place
Book, or Companion to the New Testament.” He was succeeded
by the Rev. J oseph Rhodes Charlesworth, who exchanged with
the present Incumbent, Rev. John Ryland, for the Incumbency
of Elstead, Surrey, in 1854.

LECTUEE Y.

The Eet. Charles Chew, Ikcfmbent, 1810 to
1818. — Key. Samuel "Walter, Curate, 1815 to
1818; Incumbent, 1818 to 1828. — Eey. Thomas
Jackson, Incumbent, 1823 to 1839.

After the death of Mr. Wilson, in July 1809, the
Incumbency of Slaithwaite remained vacant for some
months. The first record which I find of his successor,
the Eev. Charles Chew, is dated May 1810. Mr.
Eoberts continuing as Curate in residence in the
meantime. Mr. Chew was appointed by the Eev.
John Coates, Vicar of Huddersfield. I learn from
John Whitacre, Esq., of Woodhouse, whose family
were intimate with Mr. Chew, that the latter Gentle¬
man was a native of Northamptonshire, and laboured
near Market Harborough, Leicestershire — I presume
at Husband Bosworth — before he came hither. He
was a graduate of Oxford : a man of gentlemanly
habits ; a good extemporary preacher ; very painstaking
and popular. In person, of middle size ; energetic in
his manner ; about fifty years of age, when he became
Incumbent. According to the fashion of those days
he wore powder, and was of dignified appearance and
much respected. In some of which respects he would
contrast with both his predecessor and successor. He
married first a Miss Hanbury, daughter of the Vicar
of Langton, near Market Harborough. His second

134

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS

wife was Mrs. Hicks, a widow, who had a daughter
living with them. Mr. Chew was not very happy in
this connection. Mrs. Chew did not like the country,
and induced Mr. Chew to leave ; first on account of
his health, when Mr. Walter became his Curate, June
24th, 1815, and finally resigned in 1818. Mr. Chew
went into Leicestershire or Northamptonshire ; and,
it is said, was suspended from his Clerical function
for some irregularity in rubrical or other ecclesiastical
matters, by Bishop Tomline : who most probably did
not like his doctrine, which was Oalvinistic, of which
the Bishop wrote what he entitled a “ Confutation,” on
which the Rev. Thomas Scott published “Remarks.”

The Rev. Edward Parkin was assistant Curate from
June 1814, and the Rev. William Hanbury, a Nephew
of Mr. Chew, from October 1814 to June 1815 ; in
1816, he succeeded to the family living of Harborough,
Warwickshire. Mr. Hanbury was a good scholar, a
Student of Christ Church, Oxford, and had also the
living of St. Ebbe’s, Oxford; he is still, I believe,
living, but deranged.

I find the name also of the Rev. William Harding
frequently in the Registers, from May 1814, to June
1815. He was Curate ot Huddersfield for five years,
and afterwards perpetual Curate of Sawley, Derby¬
shire ; and was an excellent man. He was accidentally
drowned in 1823.

In 1813, Mr. Chew removed the Sunday School
from “the Warehouse” near the Bridge, to the large
Vestry under the Church. It had been placed by him

REV. CHARLES CHEW.

135

under the superintendence, as Master, of George
Mellor, of Highhouse, in Linthwaite, in 1810: and
this venerable man retained the office until his death,
March 31st, 1857 — and fulfilled its duties for nearly
the whole period of 46 years. He always expressed
the greatest respect for the memory of Mr. Chew.

Mr. Chew continued the weekly Meetings of Com¬
municants in his house, which had been carried on by
Mr. "Wilson ; and assisted the devotion by playing on
the violin. I find a Book, in his handwriting, contain¬
ing a List of “ the names of those families that attend
Slaith waite Church.” Of the heads of families there
named, very few now remain. The families enumerated
are 167 in number, including parts of Linthwaite and
Golcar; but it cannot have contained half the real
number, as all the pews were then occupied, and are
sufficient for 500 families. The same Book contains
a list of those at Laxton and at H. Bos worth. I
presume that Mr. Chew was succeeded at the latter
place by Mr. Roberts, as the same date of place is
subjoined to the account of Mr. Wilson, communi¬
cated to the Cottage Magazine, which was edited by
Mr. Roberts’s College friend, Mr. Buck worth.

I regret not to be able to trace Mr. Chew’s history
any further — but I doubt not it will be found that
his “ Record is on high.”

In 1813, during Mr. Chew’s Incumbency, the
Church Missionary Association was formed; and it
was zealously promoted by Mr. Walter, when in
charge of the Chapelry. Shortly after he came, the

136

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

celebrated Legh Richmond, author of the “ Dairyman’s
Daughter” and other Annals of the Poor, preached
in Slaithwaite Church, as I learn from his Memoir,
(Edition of the Rev. Edw. Eickersteth, page 106.)

“Huddersfield, Oct. 1, 1815. Preached for the
Church Missionary Society, from Acts XXVII. 28.
Collection £54. Church much crowded. — Preached
in the Afternoon at Slath waite Chapel from Mark
XVII. 15. Above two thousand persons present.
In the Evening preached at Longwood Chapel from
Psalm LXXXIX. 15 & 16. An immense multitude.
Upwards of £80 collected at these three Services.
Had a day of great labour and apparent usefulness — -
Was carried through mercifully in all the three
Sermons. I hear of good effects from my Sermons
of last year in this vicinity. Particularly that at
Huddersfield, from Eph. III., on the love of Christ.”

The same good cause was advocated at Slaithwaite
in successive years by other eminent Divines, (see
Appendix.)

The Congregation continued to keep up during
Mr. Chew’s Incumbency and residence; but when
Mr. Walter came, although an excellent man and good
preacher, (of Arminian sentiments) he was almost
worn out, and could scarcely be heard, owing to having
lost his teeth, and the attendance declined. He had
laboured twenty- three years, as Curate at Madeley in
Shropshire, among the the Collieries and Ironworks,
and was much respected there. Mrs. Eletcher, the
widow of the venerable John Eletcher, lived and

REV. CHARLES CHEW.

laboured at Madeley during the whole time of Mr.
Walter’s curacy there. This Lady used to expound
and exhort in a Barn, near the Yicarage, after her
husband’s death; but having inquired of the Bev.
John Wesley as to the propriety of her labour — he
briefly replied — “ Dear Sister, Yours may be a peculiar
case, but all I have to say is that it is not God’s order.”

The Wesleyans first formed a Congregation in this
valley during Mr. Walter’s time, at Hoylehouse
Clough, in Linthwaite ; where they continue to have
a Chapel and School.

The Church Tower had been left unfinished by Mr.
Wilson and his coadjutors; being carried up only to
the level of the roof; and had a small cupola and
bell. When the late Earl of Dartmouth first visited
Slaith waite, in 1813, he was much disgusted with the
appearance of the Church, and offered and gave £100
towards raising the tower to its present height, which
was completed by means of a rate, under the Warden-
ship of the late Mr. Thomas Haigh. The fine tenor
bell of Huddersfield Church was also purchased and
paid for by rate, raised by the late Mr. James Pearson.
The clock, with its four separate faces, was placed in
the Church tower by subscription, promoted by Mr.
Bichard Yarley, in 1816.

The Bev. Samuel Walter.

Erom a note appended to the Funeral Sermon
preached on the death of the Bev. John Coates, by
the Bev. Henry John Maddock, Incumbent of Trinity

138

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Church, Huddersfield, I learn several particulars
respecting this devoted man ; but the following is the
allusion in the Sermon to which the note refers.

After enumerating the Beverends W. Smith, W.
Bobinson, and W. Harding ; who had been contem¬
poraries, Mr. Maddock says :

“ And what shall I more say ? Shall I be silent
here respecting another of these lamented labourers ?
Whose innocency of life, devotedness to the cause of
God and truly Christian spirit, secured him the estima¬
tion of all good men ; and whose strength was consumed
in prompting the welfare of those institutions which
have the spread of the gospel for their object. Yes !
who amongst us will not lament the death of a Walter ?
What friend to the cause of God, and to the Bible, the
Missionary or the Tract Society, by which that cause
is promoted, will not say of him, Alas ! my Brother !
May his Spirit be more evidenced amongst us, and like
him may we spend and be spent for God and his
cause.”

Note.

“The Bev. Samuel Walter A.M., Perpetual Curate
of Slaith waite, near Huddersfield, who died June 7th,
1823, was bom at Wellington, Shropshire, May 12th,
1764, educated by the Bev. Hr. Bobins, at Bristol, and
afterwards of St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford, where he
took his degree of A.B., and was ordained Deacon to
the Curacy of Churchill, Somersetshire, 1788; where
he remained four years and then removed to South
Petherton, and from thence to Madeley, Shropshire ;

REV. SAMUEL WALTER.

139

where he laboured with indefatigable zeal for twenty -
three years, under a kind Vicar and with a friendly
people. June 24th, 1815, he came to Slaith waite, as
assistant Curate to the Rev. Charles Chew, upon
whose resignation, in January 1818, he was appointed
by the Rev. John Coates, Vicar of Huddersfield, to
the Chapelry. Whilst health and strength were
vouchsafed he laboured diligently in the cause of God.
He was a zealous promoter of Bible, Missionary, and
Tract Societies, in Huddersfield and its vicinity, and
his last moments were occupied in giving directions
respecting a Sermon to be preached in his Chapel for
the Church Missionary Society. He was a kind father,
a diligent pastor, and a sincere friend. Humble and
unassuming in his manners, he gained the estimation
of all who knew him, and his memory will be long
revered by Christians of every denomination.”

To this public testimony I can add my personal
recollections of Mr. Walter ; who, it is a singular fact,
was a friend of my own father and family, both before
and after his coming to Slaithwaite. He was much
esteemed in Shropshire, and kept up a friendly com¬
munication with the Wesleyan Methodists after the
manner of his predecessor at Madeley, Mr. Fletcher.
Indeed at one time he took his turn on the plan with
the Local Preachers of the Wellington Circuit, as did
the Rev. John Eyton, Vicar ot Wellington, and the
Rev. William Morgan, then Curate of Wellington,
and afterwards Curate of Bradford, and Incumbent
of Christ Church in that town. The last named

140

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of these good men will be recollected by some
of my hearers, as having preached in our Church, for
the Sunday Schools in 1813, and assisted at the
formation of the Branch Association of the British
and Foreign Bible Society in 1816. The Bev. Patrick
Bronte, late Incumbent of Haworth, (father of the
popular female writers of that name) who was one of
the remarkable series of Evangelical and extemporary
preachers, who have laboured at Haworth for a century
past, was also a friend and neighbouring Clergyman,
when the above venerable trio were active in Shropshire,
at a time when Evangelical preachers were few and far
between. I have often heard Mr. Morgan describe his
walks up the Wrekin with Mr. Walter and Mr. Bronte.
Those gentlemen were all of what is now almost an
extinct genus in the Church of England — Arminian
Evangelicals; sympathizing more with the Wesleyans
than with any other body of Dissenters ; and differing
from the older Evangelicals on the doctrines of personal
election and final perseverance.

Mr. Walter’s income, as Curate at Madeley, was
supplemented by attention to pupils. I have a printed
card before me, in which he is announced as giving
instruction on Classics, at Brockholes House, near
Ironbridge, Shropshire, at ten shillings and sixpence
a quarter, in connection with an Educational Estab¬
lishment. Mr. Walter also gave occasional instruction
at Slaithwaite, and among his pupils was the Bev.
James Dransfield, a native of Blakestones, afterwards
Curate of Wadsworth, near Doncaster; and the late

REV. SAMUEL WALTER.

141

Mr. Joseph Garside, who became a lay Baptist
preacher, and is recently deceased.

Mr. Walter was a little man, and by no means
impressive in appearance ; he preached long, and could
scarcely be heard in our great Church ; which occa¬
sioned many to leave, and a Methodist Congregation,
as already named, sprung up. I fear he did not com¬
mand the reverence of the Choir, who on one occasion
lighted their candles and prepared to sing before he
had finished his Sermon.

There had been an ancient custom, recoguized in
the deed of Consecration of our present Church, for
the inhabitants to attend and take the Sacrament at
the Parish Church of Huddersfield, on Easter Sunday ;
and the Incumbent of Slaith waite generally preached
there, and the Vicar came to Slaithwaite, as all could
neither go nor find accommodation. Mr. Wilson was
used to be long : but being very energetic was tolerated ;
but one Easter Sunday, Mr. Walter preached so long
that the bells were going for afternoon service as the
Communicants left ; and the Churchwardens had gone
to their dinner and returned. This however broke
the custom, and ever since, each Minister has preached
at his own Church on Easter Sunday ; but the Incum¬
bent of Slaithwaite has generally preached one of a
course of Lent Sermons, on a Week-day; and the
Sermon to the children on Whit-Monday, at the
Parish Church, was also preached in rotation by the
nine Incumbents of the Old Parish of Huddersfield,
until of late years. The present Incumbent preached

142

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

in his turn in 1843 and 1852, and the Yicars have
frequently preached at Slaithwaite on Palm Sunday
for the Schools.

Mr. Walter was twice married. His first wife died
at Madeley in 1797 ; his second wife was a pious young
person from the same neighbourhood, well known to
my family, by whom he had two daughters, and I
recollect that she visited my parents after Mr. Walter’s
death, with one of her daughters, Sarah Ann, to whom
my Uncle and Aunt (Samuel and Ann Hulbert) were
God-parents. Mr. Walter was not happy in his eldest
son, who was a printer and bookseller at Ironbridge,
and being unsuccessful in business, involved his father
also in losses. He died recently in humble circum¬
stances ; having been aided by that excellent Society,
the* West-Hiding Charity for the Clergy’s Widows
and families, of which I was then a Steward.

Mr. Walter’s habit of taking a large number of
cups of tea is well known. I recollect well, when a
boy, being struck with this, when Mr. Walter would
occasionally arrive at my father’s house at Shrewsbury,
after a walk of eleven miles before breakfast. This
innocent peculiarity made him, however, no less a
welcome guest. He was also an active distributor of
Tracts ; and once, at a time of much excitement, (about
1817) a late venerable Lady, who saw him thus engaged
in the Market Place, in Huddersfield, told me that she
took him for a seditious person, disseminating treason,
and said he ought to be taken up, when she was told
that it was only Mr. Walter, of Slaithwaite, distri-

REV. SAMUEL WALTER.

143

bating his godly books ! This Lady, who delighted to
tell the story, was the wife of the late James Brook,
Esq., of Meltham and Thornton Lodge.

Mr. Walter’s care for the children was shewn in
his provision, at his own expense, of about seventy
additional sittings at the West end of the Church, for
the use of the Sunday Scholars, and now forming part
of the Antechapel.

As there was at the time of my coming here no
Memento of the second Mrs. Walter, who was buried
in the same vault with her husband, outside the North
East door of the Church, I had the pleasure of adding
her name and date of decease ; (from the information of
the late Mr. Samuel Sykes, Churchwarden, who also
lies near them, as does the Bev. Thomas Jackson)
with two lines of verse composed for the purpose.

The following is a copy of the Inscription :

Sacred to the Memory of the
KEY. SAMUEL WALTER, A.M.,

Of St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford,

Twenty-three years
Curate of Madeley, Shropshire,

And nearly eight years
Minister of this Chapel,

Who fell asleep in Jesus, June 7th, 1823,

Aged 59 years.

Also of Ann, second wife of
The above Rev. S. Walter,

Who died at Liverpool, June 5th, 1824,

Aged 49 years.

Here rests their flesh in hope divine ;

Pause, Reader, Search — What hope is thine ?

144

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

A similar Record of Mr. Walter appears on the
tombstone over his first wife in Madeley Churchyard,
to which I paid a visit in August 3rd, 1855, and
copied the following—

In Memory of Sarah Walter,

Wife of the Rev. Samuel Walter, Curate of this Parish,
Who departed this life, March 24th, 1797, aged 33 years.

She walked humbly with God in life, and after a long and painful
affliction, in which her mind was kept in peaceful confidence, fell
asleep in Jesus, and is now reaping the fruits of her temporal
sufferings in the enjoyment of an eternal weight of glory.

The Rev. Thomas Jackson.

Of this respected gentleman no printed account
exists, as far as I am aware. But I have ascertained
that he was originally in business, and in connection
with the Wesleyan body, among whom he was a
preacher; but was ordained and became Curate of
Huddersfield, under the Rev. John Coates, Vicar, in
1817, by whom, on the decease of Mr. Walter, June
7th, 1823, he was appointed to the incumbency of
this Chapelry, on the 20th of the same month. During
the early part of his Ministry here, he was active and
attentive to his duties ; and at all times earnest and
faithful. He was a sound practical preacher ; chiefly
of written Sermons ; he did not excel in extemporary
composition, although he sometimes attempted it.
His views were evangelical, and judging from the
Selection of Hymns which he compiled for the use of
the Church, had become moderately Calvinistic.

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

145

The Selection, which is still retained in use, was
intended as supplementary to the Old version of
Sternhold and Hopkins, which, with Dr. Watts’s
Psalms and Hymns, had been formerly adopted.
An old folio Common Prayer Book in my possession
has passages of the Psalms selected and marked
for use by Mr. Chew. Mr. Jackson’s collection
consists of a selection from Watts; with several of
the most popular hymns by Addison, Wesley, Cowper,
and Newton. The preface contains an extract from
the “Injunctions of Queen Elizabeth,” permitting
the use of Metrical hymns ; and Mr. Jackson adds
the devout prayer, “ May the Great Head of the
Church vouchsafe his blessing with this Selection, and
enable those who shall use it, to sing with the spirit
and with the understanding also,” and may they be
prepared by his grace to unite with the Heavenly
choir in ascribing “ Honour and glory and power unto
Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb
for ever and ever.” The selection is very limited, and
more remarkable for spirituality of sentiment than
poetry. It underwent three editions in Mr. Jackson’s
time ; and has been thrice printed since, with supple¬
mentary hymns and poems ; but is still felt to be
inadequate to the wants of the congregation.

I believe there were some serious misunderstandings
between Mr. Jackson and the Organist, Mr. Schofield,
which nearly led to an Ecclesiastical law suit: Mr.
Jackson was probably desirous of more simplicity of
worship than the musical taste of the country tends

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

146

to promote. It is certain that such feuds were very
common in Parishes in former years : more mutual
toleration has now probably been arrived at, but true
congregational singing is still very defective or rare.

Mr. Jackson was about thirty-four years of age
when he became Minister of Slaithwaite; and he
married Sophia, daughter of John Halliley, Esq., of
Dewsbury, and sister of Mrs. Euckworth, wife of the
Yicar of that Parish, before-named. Mrs. Jackson?
their son, and five daughters, still survive him. Mr.
Jackson enjoyed a good income from private sources.
Whilst Curate of Huddersfield, he engaged in tuition,
but was now enabled to give himself entirely to the
work of the Ministry, except the education of his own
family; a primary duty, which no Clergyman may
safely neglect, if he has not means or opportunity of
deferring it to others : since the example of his family,
above all, tends to support or defeat his ministerial
success. Mr. Jackson’s health however failed him
about five or six years before his death ; and becoming
much confined to the house, he engaged the services
of successive Curates; who were faithful men, but
with very small stipends, as there was then no Society
to aid in that respect. Mr. Jackson, however, in 1838,
made application to the Additional Curates’ Society,
who could not then entertain the application. I had,
however, most unexpectedly, the benefit of this appli¬
cation, of which I was ignorant, six years afterwards,
by an offer on the part of the Committee, who had
reserved the case on their books, to meet any local

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

147

contribution for an additional labourer. The Chapelry
has, since 1844, enjoyed a grant of eighty pounds per
annum towards that purpose.

Mr. Jackson successively engaged the services, as
Curate, of the Rev. Thomas Simpson, from December

1833 to September 1834. Mr. Simpson became Vicar
of Pannall, (the Parish Church of Low Harrogate)
in 1835, which he retained until 1862, and is still
living. The Rev. Thomas Radcliffe, B.A., from Oct.

1834 till July 1837. He died at Oldham shortly
afterwards. The Rev. Greorge Saunders Elwin, B,A.,
succeeded Mr. Radcliffe in August 1837, and remained
until very near the death of Mr. Jackson in 1839.
During which time he married, and had a son born, in
the house at Lingards — built and formerly occupied
by Mr. Murgatroyd ; and this son is now an ordained
Minister also of the Church of England. The father
is Rector of Hawkinge, near Folkstone, Kent ; a living
deservedly bestowed by the late Archbishop Sumner.
Mr. Elwin not being able, through ill-health, to com¬
plete the two years for which he had engaged, provided
the services of the Rev. Edward Leigh, M.A., whom
I found engaged in the duties upon my appointment,
June 7th, 1839, and he continued until I came into
residence in September following. I find in the intervals
the names of the Rev. J.C. Franks, Vicar of Hudders¬
field, Gr. Ashworth, R. Willan, S. Hopkins, R. Younger,
N. Padwick, and J. Butterfield, as occasionally and
kindly rendering their assistance as “ Officiating
Ministers.”

148

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Mr. Jackson had not received a University education
in the usual way, but became what is called a “Ten
years’ Man and after two or three terms of actual
residence at Queen’s College, Cambridge, took the
degree of Bachelor of Divinity in July 1837, the same
day on which I took that of Master of Arts. He was
pointed out to me in the Senate House on that occa¬
sion, by the Eev. Charles Musgrave, Vicar of Halifax,
who also received his degree of Doctor of Divinity
at the same commencement. It was the only time
that I ever saw Mr, J ackson ; and little thought than in
less than two years I should become his successor, not
without some recommendation from the same Dr.
Musgrave, our good Archdeacon, who has ever been so
ready to assist and counsel me in all my labours.

Mr. Jackson was in person good looking, tall, and
inclined to be stout ; in his habits somewhat reserved
and retired ; did not undertake any services or lectures
beyond the ordinary duties, but was much respected
by all who knew him. During his time several changes
took place which did not tend to increase the congre¬
gation. The Churches of Linthwaite and Golcar
were opened in 1828 and 1829 ; and immediately
abstracted many of the best supporters of Slaithwaite
Church, on either side of Valley ; and there was no
corresponding increase of population within the remain¬
ing townships of Slaithwaite and Lingards. The
Ministers appointed to these Churches, by the Revs. J.
C. Franks, and Lewis Jones, Vicars of Huddersfield
and Almondbury, were pious and zealous men. At

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

149

Golcar, Messrs. Holt, Grange, and Butler, officiated
successively for the first six or seven years. In March
1835, my lamented brother-in-law, the Rev. James
Lacy, B.A., of St. John’s College, Oxford, was ap¬
pointed: a young man of much promise, but who
remained less than a year, having taken a fatal cold,
whilst attending his candidates for confirmation to
Huddersfield in the following autumn. He returned
to his widowed mother’s house, at Islington, near
London, where I was at that time Curate, and died
there September 10th, 1836, aged twenty-four years.
The memory of this devoted young Minister is still
cherished in Golcar ; and short as was his Ministry,
it was not without important consequences in the
conversion of souls. I cannot but gratefully trace
my connection with this place to a visit paid to him
whilst he was resident at Golcar, in anticipation of
the -still tenderer connection with which you are all
acquainted. Mr. Lacy was succeeded by the Rev.
James Edward Downing, B.A., of Catherine Hall,
Cambridge, who, after labouring with much success
for twenty-six years, met with so melancholy an end
on Christmas day, 1862.

Reverting to the Sunday School, I find Mr. Jackson
recording in 1824, in a Minute Book, that The Right
Hon. William, Earl of Dartmouth, was instrumental
in introducing the Lancasterian mode of education into
the Sunday School at Slaith waite, before the National
Society existed; but it was his object that the machinery
only should be adopted. The National system of

150

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

instructing the children of the poor, in the principles
of the Established Church, being more congenial with
his Lordship’s views, he now signified his wishes on that
subject to the present Incumbent, and his agent here,
Mr. Timothy Armitage ; and to Mr. George Mellor,
the Master ; expressing his Lordship’s feeling, “ That
it was very important that the School should he in
connection with the National Society, and under the
superintendence of the Incumbent of Slaithwaite.”
With reference to this suggestion, it is right to observe
that his Lordship and his noble son and successor,
have, for above fifty years, contributed Twelve Pounds
per annum as a salary to the Sunday School Master.
The Sunday School was accordingly formally united
with the National Society, and has continued so unto
this day. The system pursued was however that of
“ Monitors,” which is now generally abandoned in
Sunday Schools ; and that of voluntary teachers was
resumed in 1839. The number of children in the
School was about 150.

There was, however, hitherto no Week-day School,
except the Eree School, which was in a very low state
under Mr. Hargreaves, when, in 1835, Mr. Jackson
commenced on his own responsibility the National
Week-day School, in the large but low vestry under
the Church. He engaged the services of Mr. John
Mellor, a native of the district, and nephew of Mr.
George Mellor who has been already mentioned ; and
who has continued to fill the office, in the vestry until
1841, and subsequently, on the opening of this School-

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

151

room, within these walls ; with how much credit and
success, I need not now describe. But I consider
the commencement of this day School by far the most
important Monument of Mr. Jackson’s Ministry.

Mr. Jackson watched over the public-houses with
much strictness ; and he checked immorality by pre¬
senting to the Archdeacon at the visitations, several
persons, who were living in open sin. The consequence
of which was that all who could lawfully do so, married.
In this he was zealously supported by the late Mr.
Samuel Sykes, Churchwarden, and at whose instance
Tables of the Creed, Lord’s Prayer, and Command¬
ments, were set up in the Chancel. The Communion
Service, which had previously been read in -the Beading
Desk, -was now solemnized in the Chancel; which,
however, was then very narrow and inconvenient, being
a mere abutment from the East Wall.

Previous to the j^ear 1824, the village of Slaith waite
was much more secluded than at present. The old turn¬
pike road, from Huddersfield to Manchester, ran over
Linthwaite and Lingards, by Blackmoor Boot and
Holthead to Marsden ; a road said to have been con¬
structed by blind Jack of Knaresborough ; leaving
Siaithwaite in the valley below. But, about forty
years ago the new turnpike road was formed, which
passed very near the village, and created almost a new
hamlet on the “ Boadside.” Ten Coaches ran back¬
wards and forwards daily, including the Mail, until
the formation of Bailways ; that passing above our vil¬
lage on the opposite side was not opened before 1849.

152

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

The Public Baths were commenced by Mr. Bichard
Yarley in 1824, among other improvements: and an
attempt was made to secure a good education for the
inhabitants by the erection of a handsome building in
Lingards, known now as School Terrace, but which
was commenced on the proprietary principle by shares,
as the “ Slaith waite and Lingards Grammar School.”
It succeeded very well for several years, under the Bev.
John Butterfield, who had at one time twenty-four
Boarders ; but ultimately failed, and the other shares
being disposed of to the Earl of Dartmouth — who had
taken an interest in the undertaking ; the building
was converted, in 1838, into private houses, of a neat
character. ‘These premises I have held since 1842, at
a favourable rent, for the residence of the National
Schoolmaster, and the benefit of the School.

An attempt was also made by Mr. Jackson to
establish a Sunday School at Cophill, on what is called
the Holm side of Slaithwaite ; indicating his sense of
the necessities of that part of the Chapelry, in which
two National Schools have since been erected — Upper
and West Slaithwaite. But he met with little success
and much opposition, even insult; owing to the
prevalence of dissent in that neighbourhood. But, on
his withdrawal, there resulted the formation of a
Sunday School at “Bank Nook,” which still exists;
professedly conducted upon the principle of “No
particular form of Beligion ;” but actually carried on
by the Particular Baptists of the Secession party. In
making these records of facts, which I cannot but

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

153

deplore, in their tendency to separate and divide
Christ’s Church, I must he understood to bear testi¬
mony to the individual piety of many members of
dissenting communities ; and my joy in any real good
which they may effect.

The Church at Linthwaite has been less successful
than that at Golcar ; but the first Minister, the Eev.
Nicholas Padwick, was a most laborious and Evangelical
Pastor. He not only laboured in the pulpit and from
house to house, but he also published various Tracts,
and a periodical of an interesting character, entitled
“ The Christian Monitor.” Mr. Padwick was compelled
to resign his charge in 1837, by the failure of his
wife’s. health, and the small amount at that time de¬
rivable from the benefice. He became Incumbent of
Milnthorpe in Westmorland, and died November 30th,
1 860. He was succeeded hy the Eev. J ohn L. Biggins,
at present Incumbent of St. Clement’s, Manchester, a
person of high Calvinistic views ; and who was followed
in 1839 by the eccentric and well known Joseph Wolff,
D.D., who continued until 1840 or 1841, at Linth¬
waite, with his devoted but scarcely less eccentric
wife, Lady G-eorgiana, daughter of the Earl of Orford.
He was scarcely suited for a fixed charge. Dr. Wolff
became Eector of Isle Brewers, Somerset, and has
recently died, having survived his Lady a few years.
He had adopted very high Church views, dwelt much
on prophetical subjects, and was seldom at home.

During the whole of Mr. Jackson’s Incumbency he
was supported by many of the most faithful of those who

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

1 54

had been brought to the Lord by the Ministry of his
venerable predecessors. But many had been drawn
away, legitimately by the new Churches; and less
justifiably by various forms of dissent. The Wesleyan
body had increased; and in 1839, built a Chapel, by
the aid of their “ Centenary Fund ;” promoted by Mr.
John Dyson, of Huddersfield, before-mentioned. It
was in progress when I began my residence in Slaith-
waite. Among those venerable men, who continued
firm to the Church, must be placed foremost the names
of William Bamforth, Samuel Wood, and John Varley.

Mr. William Bameorth, of Lowerwood, Lingards,
was a comparatively poor man in this world’s wealth ;
but was rich in faith. He nevertheless contributed
more to the permanent benefit of the place than many
wealthier persons. He was a weaver by trade, and
made his own pieces for Huddersfield Market. He
lived in a small house, still occupied by his Nephew,
Mr. James Bamforth ; he saved a little money, of which
he devoted a large portion to the Lord. He was much
attached to the Church service, and very regular in his
attendance. On one occasion, when there was no
service, owing to thae sickness of the Minister, he went
into his “ Closet” or pew, and read the whole service
to himself very devoutly, being deeply impressed with
the solemnity of God’s house, and the nearness of the
Lord, to all those who draw nigh to him there. His
character for simplicity, sincerity, and piety, was such
that the greatest scoffers and opponents of true religion
admitted that, it ever there was a true Christian,, it

WILLIAM BAMFORTH.

L55

was William Bamforth ! He was very early impressed
under Mr. Wilson’s Ministry, and continued faithful
under all his successors until his death, December
*23rd, 1838, aged 87 years.

He was a warm supporter of the Sunday School,
and of the Church Missionary and British and Foreign
Bible Societies. He was a collector for the Missions,
for many years, long before the separation of Golcar
Linthwaite from Slaithwaite. At the Annual Meet¬
ings he would sometimes address a few solemn and
impressive words ; which, delivered by one of so
venerable an appearance, with fine white locks flowing
down his shoulders, produced a deep impression. I
have heard the Rev. Hugh Stowell relate that, on one
occasion, when the late Benjamin Haigh Allen, Esq.,
of Huddersfield, was in the chair, Mr. Bamforth ob¬
served “ The Lord blessed the house of Obed Edom,
because of the Ark of the Lord wrhich abode there.
How — pointing to some Missionary boxes on the table
— take these into your houses and the Lord will bless
you for their sake.” At his death he bequeathed fifty
pounds to the Church Missionary, and a like sum to
the Bible Society.

It has already been mentioned that Mr. Wilson
had erected the house in which I dwell ; on a lease
for fifty years from the then Earl of Dartmouth,
at a ground rent of one pound annually. Mr.
Wilson, in his will, bequeathed the house to “the
succeeding Incumbent ” — and of the thirty years then
unexpired, Mr. Chew his immediate successor, occupied

156

SLAITII WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

it for about seven freely, except the above ground
rent. But, on his resignation, the remainder of the
lease was claimed by Mr. Wilson’s nephew and resi¬
duary legatee, owing to a defect in the expression of
the will. To save it from being alienated from the
use for which it was intended, Mr. William Bamforth,
in the time of Mr. Walter, purchased the remain¬
ing term, about twenty-two years, for three hundred
pounds, which were due to him from the claimant ;
and sinking the principal, received a rent of sixteen
pounds ; being five per cent interest and the ground
rent, from Mr. Walter and Mr. Jackson successively,
until his death, about a month before Candlemas
1839; when the lease expired, and the house became
the property of the Earl of Dartmouth. Mr. Jackson
rented it until his decease May 11th; rather more
than three months. Thus, the owner, the occupier,
and the lease itself expired within a very few weeks.
And this — thirty years after Mr. Wilson’s death,
and fifty after the erection of the Church and Minister’s
house, — may be said to be an era in the “ Annals
of the Church in Slaith waite.”

Mr. Bamforth’s last words — those of dying Jacob,
— “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord,” were
the text on which his funeral sermon was preached ;
and they are inscribed on his tomb within the old
Chapel walls.

Mr. Bamforth made no provision respecting the
house in his will ; knowing that the lease was drawing
to a close; but, as some dissatisfaction has been

WILLIAM BAMFORTH.

157

expressed by his representatives, it is right to state
that it has been reserved by the noble owners for its
original purpose, without any benefit to themselves.
In 1839, 1847, and in 1859, it was enlarged and
improved, at their expense chiefly, and without any
additional rent being charged. Indeed the rent is
only nominal, as it is returned by his Lordship in
another form, as well as the surplus value of the
cottage houses, in Back Lane, now Church Street, which
formed the Minister’s old house; and which, with the
garden, were surrendered on my entering on the living.

Thus then the pious designs of Mr. Wilson and
Mr. Bamforth have not been eventually defeated ; but
for seventy-five years, the conveniently situated house
has been practically and popularly “ the Parsonage,”
though not legally attached to the living; and is licensed
as such by the Bishop. The many beneficial changes,
now in progress relative to Church property, may
possibly in time remedy this anomaly. Meanwhile
I rest securely under the patronage of the noble
owner of the house, though not of the living.

Me. Samuel Wood, of Slaithwaite, was another
zealous and devoted Churchman. He was one of the
original Trustees of the Church ; he acted as Treasurer
during its building, and advanced the money until the
Subscriptions, or rather purchase money, as they were
deemed, for freehold pews, came in. I see his name
attached to all documents relative to the Church or
Sunday Schools. He was also Treasurer of the Pree
School ; and when a barn, belonging to it, was burnt

158

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

down, provided the money and received it by instal¬
ments from the Master. He diligently attended
Church, and visited the Sunday School. He also took
an active part in the purchase of the Organ, and in
all other matters in. which the spiritual and temporal
interests of the Church were concerned. Mr. Walter
spent many of his evenings in his company ; and his
descendants have always been among our best sup¬
porters. Mr. Wood died Hov. 22nd, 1838, aged 84
years.

Me. John Lawson Vaeley, of Lingards, was
another of the original Trustees of the Church ; and
took a lively interest in its erection, and in other
works of public interest. He died Jan. 24th, 1829,
aged 72 years. His Sons inherited these qualities,
two of whom, [Richard and John, as maybe hereafter
shewn, died in the faith ; and his family still continue
to be a main support.

Me. James Bobeets, of Broad Oak, Linthwaite,
had been a very useful man, in the interest of the
Church and Minister, until the erection of Linthwaite
Church, for which he gave the site, in 1828. But the
three before-named — Messrs. Bamforth, Wood, and
Varley, were like David’s three mighty men. There
were many others ; ** Howbeit they attained not unto
the first three.” 2 Sam. XXIII. 19.

Among the devout attendants, until the opening of
Golcar Church, were John Bamsden, James Hall, and
Joseph Wood, of Golcar. James and Thomas Sykes,
of Linthwaite Hall, with Samuel Cotton, were Members

JAMES SYKES.

159

of the Moravian Church, but attended at Slaithwaite,
except when they walked over to Fulneck, to the
services and communion of the United Brethren.

Mr. James Sykes was born in 1760, and died in
1842, A man of very simple manners, but deep and
Evangelical piety. He continued in single life ; and
for forty years before his death, resigned the farm to
his younger and married brother, that he might devote
himself, without care, to God ; and, as he once said to
me, remained “A lad at home” until his decease. The
Moravians came over once a month, and held a Service
in the old Hall, as long as any of the family remained
there ; which was until the death of Mr. Thomas
Sykes and his widow, about 1847. Mr. Robert Sykes,
their son, also a Moravian, has recently deceased. In
their latter years, when these venerable persons were
unable to go to Fulneck, they gladly communicated
at Slaithwaite Church: and lie in the Old Burial
Ground.

With these, and many other good men, the Church
at Slaithwaite was adorned, in the days of Mr. Jackson ;
some of them vestiges of the labours of those more
eminent, but not more earnest divines, who have been
described in previous Lectures. The boundaries of
our Zion were however rather narrowed than extended
during the thirty years which elapsed after Mr.
Wilson’s death. Still there were some good young
persons rising up, who formed the first band of Sunday
School Teachers, when it was reconstructed, upon my
appointment in 1839. The District Visiting Society,

160

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

commenced also in 1840, was organized with about
thirty pious men, venerable for character as well as
years ; nearly all of whom now “rest from their labours
and their works do follow them.” We look hack with
veneration on their memory ; we cherish their graves ;
but do we follow their faith and patience ? Let me
in the language of Moses, (Deut. XXXII. 7.) say
“ Remember the days of old, consider the years of
many generations; ask thy father and he will shew
thee ; thy elders and they will tell thee.”

During Mr. Jackson’s Incumbency the Second
visit of a modern Bishop to Slaithwaite took place ;
on the occasion of the first Confirmation held in the
Church by Dr. Longley, first Bishop of Ripon, August
17th, 1838; when 122 Candidates were admitted to
that sacred rite, viz. 16 from Golcar, 52 Marsden,
21 Meltham, 10 Scammonden or Deanhead, and 23
Slaithwaite ; there were none from Linthwaite, which
was undergoing a change of Minister.

Mr. Jackson was afflicted with a disease of the
heart, which terminated suddenly at Manchester, May
11th, 1839, but he was brought hither and buried in a
vault beside Mr. Walter, at the North East door of
the Church ; and I rarely cross their graves, to enter
the sacred inclosure, without the solemn sense of my
own mortality.

On the gravestone, the following text is added :
“ God is my record how greatly I have longed after
you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ” — Phil. I. 8.
The following is the inscription on the Monument in

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

161

the Chancel, on a shield, surmounted by a cross. It
is said to have been composed by the Rev. Wyndham
Madden, M,A., then Incumbent of Woodhouse, near
Huddersfield, who preached Mr. Jackson’s funeral
Sermon, and is now Rector of Berghapton, Norfolk.

Sacred to the Memory
of

THE REV. THOMAS JACKSON, B.D.,

Of Queen’s College, Cambridge,

Six years Curate of the Parish Church
Of Huddersfield,

And sixteen years the Minister of this Church.

The cross of Christ was that in which alone
He gloried ; the precious truths of the Gospel
He fervently, faithfully and affectionately
Preached. Its holy precepts he exemplified in
His life and conduct ; and its rich consolations
He realized in the solemn prospect of eternity.

He departed this life May 11th, 1839,

Aged 50 years,

And lies interred near this Chancel,

This Monument is erected by his
Affectionate widow.

I thus close my Lectures, beloved brethren, on the
Religious History of Slaithwaite, until the time of my
appointment, June 7th, 1839, on the nomination of
the Rev. James Clark Franks, M.A., Vicar of Hud¬
dersfield, and formerly Chaplain of Trinity College,
Cambridge. It would not be becoming in me to dwell
at any length on my own Ministry among you, my

162

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

dear people ; and I must refer you to the two Decennial
Keports, which I have published, for a continuation of
our Ecclesiastical History.

I can only hope that I have continued the same
testimony which has been borne by so many of my
revered predecessors in the Ministry ; and that I have
fulfilled the purpose expressed in my first Sermon —

I determined not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified.” r I shall, nevertheless,
hope to collect some Memorials of those who, in my
time, have departed this life in the faith and fear of
God; and as many, who from distance and other
circumstances, have not been able to attend these
Lectures, have nevertheless expressed great interest in
them, I propose to print them in a cheap and conve¬
nient form, if sufficient encouragement he received,
that they may remain for future generations. Devoutly
praying that my own infirmities and shortcomings in
this and every other work, may he forgiven by Him,
Whose I am, and Whom I desire to serve ; and that
my humble but earnest endeavours may be accepted
in love by you all — for His sake, “ Who hath loved us
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath
made us kings, and priests unto God and his Father:
to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen.”

Slaithwaite, May 21st, 1863.

APPENDIX No. V

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF LECTURE Y.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

I beg to correct an error in page 113, as to the date of the first
Sermon for this Society at Slaith waite, it was 1804 not 1803, as
appears from a printed statement, published by the Huddersfield
Association in 1863, being its Jubilee year. “In 1804, Ten
Pounds were also remitted from Slaithwaite, the produce of a
Sermon” — “And in 1814, were remitted £12 6s. 2d., from Slaith¬
waite in Subscriptions” — this was on the occasion of the formation
of the Branch Association, which still exists, and remitted, in
1863, its fiftieth year, £25.

I have been favoured with the following list of Preachers ;
which I owe to the kindness and research of the Rev. George
Hough, Incumbent of South Crosland, who has held that Incum¬
bency ever since its formation in 1828. I regret that I cannot
complete the list to the present time, but it includes some eminent
divines, —

1804 — Rev. Thomas Wilson, Collection . £10 0 0

1815 — ,, Charles Chew, „ 6 0 0

1816 — ,, Legh Richmond „ 20 3 4

1817 — ,, John Buckworth, „ 10 16 0

1818 — „ William Robinson, ,, 8 6 6

1819 — „ Legh Richmond, ,, 9 0 5

1820— „ H. Davies, „ 6 5 0

1821 — ,, Robert Cox, „ 4 10 6

1822 — ,, Joseph Jowett, ,, 5 13 6

1823 — ,, Edward Bickersteth ,, 7 1 8

1824— „ H. J. Maddock, „ 10 6 6

1825— „ C. Neville, „ 8 10 0

1826 — ,, Hugh Stowell „ . 8 11

Among the early Collectors and Subscribers, are the names of
Rev. S. Walter, E. Parkin, and T. Jackson ; Messrs. Wm. Bam-
forth, James Roberts, John Roberts, Samuel Wood, Joseph
Wood, John Eastwood, Miss Hicks, Mrs. Walter, Mrs. Jackson,
Miss Ann Roberts. &c. &c. Mr. Walter died with the announce¬
ment of Mr. Bickersteth’s Sermon lying on his breast. Our present
eloquent Diocesan, is nephew of Mr. B. and preached our Mis¬
sionary Sermons to very large congregations in 1858 and 1860.

164

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

REV. JOHN COATES.

Note to the Funeral Sermon by the Rev. H. J. Maddock.

The Rev John Coates. A.M., late Fellow of Catherine Hall,
Cambridge. He came to Huddersfield as Curate to the Rev.
John Lowe, April-1785, and was instituted to the Vicarage in
November 1791, on the presentation of Sir John Ramsden.
During the thirty-two years’ time he held the Vicarage of Hud¬
dersfield, he nominated to the Chapel of Deanhead, the Rev. Mr.
Ramsden and the Rev. Mr. Younger ; to Slaith waite, the Rev.
C. Chew, the Rev. S. Walter, and the Rev. Thomas Jackson ; to
Longwood, the Rev. Mr. Had wen, the Rev. Wm. Robinson, and
his Son, the Rev. John Coates.

He died on Sunday, July 6th, 1823, and was buried in the
Chancel, north-side of the Communion Table, with every mark of
respect and regret. The SundajT following, a Funeral Sermon
was preached at the Parish Church, by the Rev. S. Knight, Vicar
of Halifax, from Psalm xii. 1, to a crowded and weeping audience.

REV. WILLIAM ROBINSON.

From the same Sermon, I derive the following account :

The Rev. William Robinson, A.B., Perpetual Curate of Long-
wood, near Huddersfield, and Master of the Free School in
that place, who died suddenly in the night of September 6th,
1822. He was born at Cambridge in the year 1762: entered
at Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he took his Bachelor’s Degree
and served the curacies of Weatherthorp on the Wolds, in this
county ; of Reading, under the late Hon. and Rev. William
Cadogan ; and of Huddersfield, where he laboured with much
success and usefulness for six years with the Rev. John Coates,
by whom he was presented to the Chapelry of Longwood. To
do good and to advance the interests of religion, were the grand
objects of his life ; and to which he made everything else sub¬
servient : he took great delight in visiting the poor, and contri¬
buting to their necessities often beyond the extent of his means.
His piety was ardent, and his disposition affectionate ; his attain¬
ments in learning were various and respectable, and his attachment
to literature was remarkable to the last ; and he always regretted
that he had not more time to devote to pursuits from which he
derived great solace and delight ; but above all, the adorable name
of the Saviour might be said to be “his theme, his inspiration and
his song in comparison of this, he with the Apostle, accounted
all things but loss. The universal sorrow that was shewn, and
the tears that were shed at his death by a congregation that had
long loved, respected, and admired him, were a just and sincere
tribute to his various excellencies, and exalted virtues.”

Mr. Robinson was the contemporary and friend of Messrs.
Wilson, Chew, and Walter.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

lf>5

REV. THOMAS JACKSON.

Since delivering the above Lecture, and while these sheets are
in the press, I have received a letter from Mrs. Jackson, who is
now residing at Southport, in which, in answer to my inquiries,
she says, “My husband was born at Sheffield, March 31st,
1789,” She laments her inability from bodily indisposition to
write much, but says, “ Were you sitting by me, and we were
conversing together respecting my dear husband’s labours, I
could say much of both what he did and what he bore ; but this
I believe, from his first entering upon the important sphere to the
very close of his life, it was his most anxious concern to bring
glory to God, in the conversion of souls, and in the edifying and
building up of his dear children in their most holy faith. It was
truly his desire to spend aiM be spent in the blessed service of his
Lord and Master. During the first ten years of his Ministry
being quite alone, without any assistant Curate, he had indeed to
labour hard, especially in pastoral visiting : the places lying so far
apart from each other, as you well know, it was often almost too
much for him, and when during the last four or five years of his
life he had a Curate, no help was granted him though it was
applied for, to enable him to bear the expense of the same On
first going uo Slaith waite he found mutch to contend with : though
his predecessor was a good man and a faithful gospel Minister, he
had been very lax in the discipline of the Church, which made it
most difficult for my husband to have all things done “ decently
and in order.” Here I could particularise, but must omit the
same ; as it might not be to the point. For some years writing
had been taught in the Sunday School, and this, to which of
course, he was exceedingly opposed, he resolved to put down, and
at last succeeded. I think 1 named to you that he had a weekly
Meeting in our house for exposition of God’s W ord with singing
and prayer. It was first held in the kitchen, but, as the number
increased, we removed into the largest room above ; and I do
trust we often felt that it was good to be there, and that Jesus
himself drew near, and revealed his love to our souls. And in
the pulpit he was often enabled to preach with much fervor, not
coming with excellency of speech, &c., but with the Apostle’s
determination “not to know anything among them save Jesus
Christ and him crucified.”

I do trust and believe that, though there was much to discourage,
my dear husband’s Ministry was owned and blessed of God, and
not a few, I hope, were refreshed and strengthened in running the
race set before them. Dear old Mr. (or rather William as he
used to be called) Bamforth greatly esteemed his privileges, and
often has he conversed, for a considerable time, on those precious
truths which were continually brought before them. Now, we
trust, they unite in singing that new song of Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain.”

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

166

Often did my dear husband, towards the last, go into the pulpit
panting for breath ; indeed he was more fit for bed than to preach,
but it was of no avail, I could not prevail upon him to desist.”

ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, GOLCAR.

The following are the dates of the several Incumbents, taken
from the Registers :

The Rev. T. B. Holt, first Burial, Nov. 12, 1829.

April, 1881.

May 14, 1834.

April 24, 1835.
Augt. 1, 1836.

„ jl^jvcx, ,, April 5, 1863.

Mr. Butler leaving Yorkshire afterwards withdrew from the
Ministry of the Church.

LINTH WAITE HALL.

This Ancient Elizabethan Residence belongs to Sir Joseph
Radcliffe, Hart. Captain Thornton lived there in Cromwell’s
time, and beat up for recruits on behalf of the Parliament, at
Pighill, in Slaith waite, when the Chapel “loosed” on Sunday Even¬
ing. From Mr Meeke’s Diary it would appear that his Brother-in-
law, Mr. Brooksbank, lived at Linthwaite Hall about 1695 ; and
that the Rev. Mr Broom, Minister of Meltham, lodged there, and
rode over to his duties. The Sykes family occupied it for four
generations, from 1729 to 1847. The grandfather of the genera¬
tion referred to in the Lecture, came to Linthwaite Hall from
Flathouse in that Township, when he was 22 years of age. I
was indebted for this information to the late Samuel Sykes, of
Hollywell, Slaithwaite.

CLERICAL SCHOLARS OF SLAITHWAITE FREE
SCHOOL.

Among theselam happy to mention the Rev. J ames Quarmby, a
native of Binns in Linthwaite, who was educated under Mr. John
Boulton, the Rev. Walter Smith, and Mr. William Varley. He
was baptized by Mr. Wilson; and became Curate of Mablethorpe,
in Lincolnshire, where he laboured for 23 years, and died there
May 15th, 1843. I had the pleasure of his correspondence for
several years before his death, and he bore strong testimony to
the excellency of Mr. Wilson’s Ministry. He left t^yo sons,
Clergymen and Graduates of Oxford. He was very kind to his
aged brother, Mr. Joseph Quarmby, who was the last of the
family who had occupied the farm at Binns for a century, until
1844, and from a certain dignity of manner, bore the bye-name
of “ Lord Grey.”

The Rev. James Dransfield was bom June 8th, 1799, the
son of Joshua and Betty Dransfield, of Blakestones in Slaithwaite,
was a pupil under Mr. Hargreaves, at the Free School ; — after-

R B. Grange,
P. E Butler,
James Lacy,

J. E. Downing,

Wm Rfl.rlrm*

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

167

wards a private pupil of the Rev. S. Walter. He read with the
Rev. Mr. Rogers, Evening Lecturer in W akefield Church previous
to his ordination by the Archbishop of York as Curate of Cantley,
near Doncaster He was then in his 26th year. Three years
afterwards he became Curate of Doncaster, under the Rev. Dr.
Sharp, Vicar, and remained there three years, and finally settled
at Wadsworth, where he died November 7th, 1834. He married,
whilst at Cantley, Elizabeth, daughter of William Sheardown,
Esq., of Doncaster ; by whom he had one daughter, still living
with her pious mother in that town. Mr. Dransfield published
a Sermon on a particular occasion. His sentiments were Evan¬
gelical ; he was a good preacher, and frequently occupied the
pulpit in Slaith waite Church during the Incumbency of Mr. Jack-
son. He was offered an endowed School, on condition of giving
up a pastoral charge, but this he considered would not have been
in his line of duty. His end was peace. In a conversation with
a Clergyman, he said “ Preach Christ : none but Christ will do.”

Mr. Joseph Dransfield, Uncle of the foregoing, was also a
Scholar of Slaithwaite School, and being adopted by the Elland
Society, at the recommendation of Mr. Wilson, became a Member
of the University of Cambridge, where he was a friend of the
Rev. Samuel Knight, afterwards Vicar of Halifax ; but died in the
last year of his undergraduateship, 12th September, 1784, aged
23 years, and is buried in the Old Burial Croft.

I was indebted for the above information chiefly to the late
Mr. John Dransfield, brother of the Rev. James Dransfield. He
was Churchwarden of Slaithwaite for seven years in my time ; a
mild and amiable man. He was also Trustee of the Free School.
The Curates of Slaithwaite have generally lodged at Blakestones,
since 1844, with him and his respected widow; and he always
rendered willing service in all my undertakings. He was buried
August 20th, 1858, aged 66 years ; leaving two daughters, now
in Australia.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS.

Since the delivery of these Lectures I have found the following
Memorandum in Mr. Murgatroyd’s Journal for 1786, April 23.
“Sunday School was begun in the School the 9th inst.” I
presume the Cottage Schools preceded this. Mr. Murgatroyd
had resigned the School January 1786.

Among the Commissioners appointed in 1788 to Report on the
state of Slaithwaite Chapel, previous to its being taken down, I
find the name of “ William Whitacre.” He was uncle of John
Whitacre, Esq., of Woodhouse ; and was the first person who
introduced Sunday Schools into this neighbourhood. — The second
person in England. He opened Schools at Meltham and else¬
where, and probably was the means of the above early effort at
Slaithwaite.

168

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

EXTRACTS FROM THE CHAPELWARDEN’S BOOKS,
1788 TO 1839.

TIMOTHY ARMITAGE, CHAPELWARDEN.

1788, Aug. 25, One day’s work when the Chapel £. s. d.

was pulled down . 0 16

,, Nov. 8, Chapel cleaning after the Flood . 0 6 6

1789, Aug. 4, Paid John Sykes for the expences of

the Archbishop’s Servants (at
the Consecration of the New

Chapel) . 2 2 0

1806, Jan. 23. Paid Mr. Wilcock, Golcar Hill, our
proportionate part of opposing the
New Church, (at Huddersfield) 8 8 0

THOMAS HAIGH, CHAPELW ARDEN.

1814, Steeple raised, Lord Dartmouth gave . 100 0 0

Lingards share of Rate . 89 10 11

Slaithwaite do. ~ 293 5 0

Total cost . £482 15 11

JAMES PEARSON, CHAPELWARDEN.

1816, July 11, Church Bell and other Expenses, paid
Mr. Godfrey Berry, (Huddersfield
Churchwarden) . 87 7 0

SAMUEL SYKES, CHAPELWARDEN.

1824, April 17, Mr. Wilson’s Bill for Commandments

and Arms, and staining Communion 12 12 3

,, June 10, Paid for Steam pipes and Apparatus
for warming Church, under direc¬
tion of Richard Yarley . 44 10 6

RICHARD HORSFALL, CHAPELWARDEN.

1826, Jan. 29. Journey to Huddersfield for John

Schofield’s affairs . . 0 2 6

„ Sept. 29, Expences of putting a Plea in the

Court of Kings’ Bench . 1 10 0

„ Sept. 29, Journey to Mr. Battye for instructions

relating to the Organ . 0 2 6

(These Items had reference to the disputes between the Minister
and Organist.)

1834, May 3, Slaithwaite part of Bond to clear us
from expence of rebuilding the
Parish Church, at Huddersfield 0 14 4

1835, April 22, Slaithwaite proportion to Huddersfield

Parish Church . . . 3 17 10

(This is the last Payment of the kind.)

JAMES HOYLE, CHAPELWARDEN.

1839, June 6, Chapel cleaning and Materials . 5 16 0

,, „ The Chapel also repainted . 23 3 8

( This was on the occasion of the appointment of the present
Incumbent.)

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH, FREE SCHOOL AND NATIONAL SCHOOL,

CONTINUATION.

The Rey. C. A. Hulbert, Incumbent,—

1839 to 1861.

Although, my beloved parishioners, it is not my in¬
tention to indulge in anything like an autobiography,
I with pleasure accede to the wishes of many among
you by reproducing the two Decennial Reports of the
progress of the Church in Slaithwaite, which I ad¬
dressed to you in 1850 and 1860, with a continuation
to the present time. It affords me satisfaction at the
same time to redeem my promise of adding some
particulars, besides what will appear in the History,
of several of my fellow labourers, who are gone to their
reward. A quarter of a century is now nearly com¬
plete since I first came among you. It has almost
swept away the generation of your fathers, by whom
I was so cordially welcomed in June, 1839. I owe
them some memorial, as well as those other friends,
connected but not residents, who have looked on and
cheered us forward in the race.

The providential circumstances which led to my
appointment, also secured me a favourable reception.
The neighbouring township of Golcar — whose worthy
inhabitants continue their friendly connection — had
been the scene of the labours of my lamented brofcher-

170

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

in-law (as related page 140), and of her, who for that
short but well-remembered period, was his companion,
as she has been my helpmeet, in every good work,
for now nearly twenty-seven years. The old men of
the neighbourhood who remembered Mr. Wilson in
his early days, were ready to own some similarity to
his youthful fervor, and rallied round me ; while the
young naturally responded to the call of one nearer
their own age and feeling.

Hence very large congregations continued to attend
the Church, when the interest of novelty was over ;
and everything which was proposed found a ready
support. Having passed the five preceding years of
my ministry (1834 to 1839) as curate of the extensive
parish of Islington — a highly favoured district of the
metropolis — under the Eev. Daniel Wilson, Vicar,
I had enjoyed privileges and opportunities of parochial
experience of unusual extent, and was anxious to carry
out the same plans, as far as practicable and suitable,
in Slaithwaite. I was instituted in London on the
7th June, 1839, by the Lord Bishop of Ripon : and on
the following Sunday, the 9th, accompanied by my
patron — the Rev. J. C. Franks, celebrated divine ser¬
vice and preached twice ; also reading the Articles of
Religion, and declaring, according to law and my own
conviction, my unfeigned assent and consent, ex animo,
to everything contained in the Book of Common
Prayer, &c. My first text has already been given.
The second, — “ What think ye of Christ ? ” -is a
question which I desire constantly to repeat.

REV. C. A. HULBERT.

171

Very few days after my appointment, I received a
visit, at Islington, from the Eight Honourable William,
fourth Earl of Dartmouth, whose kind support I had
sought at the instance of the Yicar of Huddersfield, and
of which his Lordship assured me. My first stay in
Slaithwaite happened to be coincident with the half-
yearly audit of his Lordship’s agent, Erederick Thynne,
Esq., of Westminster: and thus commenced that happy
connection, which was only interrupted by the death
of Lord Dartmouth, in November, 1853, and Mr.
Thynne, in February, 1864, and has been lenewed
with at least equal confidence by their sons and
successors.

His Lordship’s kindness and liberality never abated,
but increased every year : and the following pages will
develope the various plans which, with the counsel
and support of Mr. Thynne, were carried on ; and the
munificent sum of between five and six thousand pounds
expended by his Lordship. His first care was to repair
and enlarge, for the accommodation of myself and
family, the House of Kesidence, of which the history
has been given; and, with characteristic humility, on his
next visit to Woodsome Hall, — the seat of his ancestors,
his Lordship walked over to Slaithwaite — nine miles —
and paid us a visit, accompanied by his agent ; inspec¬
ted the improvements, and, by an equivalent subscrip¬
tion, set me free from rent. Thus settled, I began to
look around, and seek materials for that “ Spiritual
building:” of which the following Deports contain
the progress, omitting the introductory matter.

.172

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

THE FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT— 1839 to 1849.

Our first object of attention was the Sunday School ; conducted
by Monitors under Mr. George Mellor as Superintendent, in the
large low vestry under the Church. It was thought advisable to
retain the good man in his office, but to reconstruct the School,
by the formation of a body of intelligent adult Teachers. These
had to be trained ; and for two years, on Satin-day Evenings,
attended at our house and were instructed by my dear wife and
myself in the Scriptures and the formularies of the Church. Many
of them became Communicants the following Easter. The School
was thus, in November 1839, remodelled and a set of regulations
adopted. At this time the number of Scholars on the boards was
165. Cottage Lectubes and a Weekly Service in the School
were begun, but the latter, on account of numbers, removed to the
Church ; and a Lending Library was also founded for general use
on easy terms. These plans have continued with little alteration
unto the present time. The Library still exists, much augmented,
but not as much used as at the time of its institution.

The same vestry was occupied as a National School in the week
— and was very inadequate to the convenience of the increasing
numbers who attended, on Sundays especially, and was exceed¬
ingly deficient in light and ventilation. The first effort was
therefore the opening of a Sunday School at Holthead, in
Lingards, about a mile distant from the Church, in a large room
which had been formerly used as a School by the party who built the
“ General Sunday School,” on Meltham Moor. The new Sunday
School was opened March 1840. Thirty-four children imme¬
diately attended, who afterwards increased to seventy. — And this
School continued until June 1847, when it was suspended. The
want of a resident Master, and the distance from the Church were
found insuperable difficulties, after we lost the first devoted
Superintendent, Mr. Richard Bamford, at whose suggestion the
School was begun, and who has now for twenty years been the
Master of the National School at Marsden. [ The erection of the
School at Hilltop, in Lingards, in 1852, was however a conse¬
quence of this effort. ]

In the first year of my Ministry, two dissenting bodies com¬
pleted their designs, previously conceived, by the erection of the
“ General Sunday School,” already named, by persons chiefly of
the Particular Baptist persuasion; and the Wesleyan Centenary
Chapel, in that corner of the township of Linthwaite, which so
closely adjoins Slaith waite as to be practically and popularly part
of the village so called. Both these erections drew away some
from our fold ; and they continue to this day. A further secession
took place for a time in the Baptist body ; and the “Wesleyan
Reformers” have formed a distinct congregation, — all in the same
part of the village.

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

173

At this time the ancient Endowed School was suspended, hav¬
ing been found in a ruinous condition by the Trustees at the decease
of Mr. Hargreaves, the late Master, in Jan., 1837, and the funds
were accumulating for the purpose of rebuilding. The only ex¬
isting provisions for Church education were therefore in 1840, the
Schools in the Vestry and at Holthead. On the 12th April, being
Palm Sunday in that year, a Sermon was preached on behalf of
the Sunday Schools by the Rev. Lewis Jones, Vicar of Almond -
bury, and £5 5s. were collected. The congregations had now
become very large-; and on this occasion, you will recollect, that
I revived the ancient Church practice of baptizing infants after
the second lesson at afternoon service, commencing with my
second son, and nineteen other children, and for the first time the
favourite hymn ‘‘ilosanna” was sung. On Easter Sunday fol¬
lowing, also, Catechetical examinations were revived in the after¬
noon service, and have been continued monthly ever since. On
Easter Monday the children were assembled and examined in the
Church and received rewards. On Whit-Monday following (June
8th) the children of both Sunday Schools, and some others of the
day School, amounting to 280, attended Church in the afternoon,
and went in procession to meet the School at Holthead and back,
and were regaled with buns and tea, by private subscription, for
the first time, at the Slaithwaite Baths. After which, the Teachers
and friends assembled, to the number of about 120, in the large
room there, and we celebrated with much thankfulness the blessing
of God on the first year of our connection as Minister and People.
Sunday, June 7th, the anniversary of my appointment, there were
present in the Sunday School at Slaithwaite 200, at Lingards 75
Scholars, and 26 Teachers. — In all my School plans I was zeal¬
ously seconded by my lamented friend, Mr Richard Varley,
who had been a Sunday School Teacher in his early days, and
continued in the office of Treasurer of the School funds until his
death, Dec. 12th, 1847. I have been more particular in relating
the events of this first year, as they are for the most part the
beginnings and types of customs which still subsist; and may they
be perpetual !

It now became apparent that a more commodious School-room
was absolutely necessary ; and the occupation of the vestry-room,
with the consequent unavoidable desecration of the church-yard,
had long been a matter of regret to the inhabitants. The subject
was indeed named to the Earl of Dartmouth, on the occasion
of his Lordship’s visit to Slaithwaite, in November, 1839. A
site was then fixed upon by his Lordship, a little above the
West end of the church-yard, and in Malhngfield, occupied by
Mr. John Schofield (the gratuitous Organist for 54 years), who
most willingly gave up his interest as tenant. His Lordship con¬
veyed the site on the 31st day of July, 1840, to three Trustees, as
a School for the education of the poor in the principles of Christian

174

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

religion, according to the doctrines and discipline of the United
Church of England and Ireland ; and the deed of conveyance was
executed and enrolled in Chancery at his Lordship’s expense.
The first stone of the new School-house was publicly laid August
17th, 1 840 ; on which occasion Sermons were preached by the Rev.
Josiah Bateman, Vicar of Huddersfield, and the Rev. Thomas
Minster, Incumbent of Farnley Tyas, after which £8 were re¬
ceived. On Dec. 17th a grant of £154 was obtained from Her
Majesty’s Committee of Council on Education, and another
from the National Society of £75, in aid of the erection, and
the building was ultimately completed by voluntary subscription,
at an expense of about £700. The School was subjected, Oct.
13th, 1840, to the inspection of Her Majesty’s Committee of
Council on Education, according to the Minute of Council of Aug.
10th, 1840, which provides that such Inspectors of Church Schools
be appointed with the consent of the Archbishop of the Province.
The building was proceeded with and was covered in before
winter ; and ready for use, though not complete, at Easter, 1841.

April 4th, 1841, Falm Sunday, the School Sermons were
preached by the Rev. Wyndham Madden, M.A., Incumbent of
Woodhouse, and myself ; the numbers of children reported as in
attendance were — Slaithwaite 250, Lingards 80, total 330. The
collections amounted to £7 15s. 7d. On Easter Tuesday, April
13th, 1841, the new School-house was opened ; on which occasion
the children of the National and Sunday Schools assembled in the
old School, and went in procession through the Minister’s garden,
where they sung a hymn, and were headed by the Venerable
Archdeacon Musgrave, D.D., the Rev. T. Minster, and the
Rev. C. A. Hulbert, (the Trustees) ; the Vicar of Huddersfield,
the Treasurer, Committee, and several of the Clergy and friends ;
followed by the members of the Odd-Fellows and Odd- Women,
Foresters, Archers, Gardeners, and other Societies, with banners
and insignia, attended with bands of music. They passed through
[Back Lane to the new School and into Church, where prayers
were read by the Incumbent, and an excellent sermon preached,
to an auditory of 1,200 persons, from Eccles. vi. 12, by the Arch¬
deacon, and a collection made, amounting (with donations received
the same day) to £12 Is. 9d. In the evening a public examina¬
tion of the children was held in the new School, by the Arch¬
deacon and Vicar, who expressed themselves much gratified with
the proficiercy of the Scholars, the promptness and accuracy of
their answers, and the general order of the School. After some
interesting observations from the Archdeacon and the Vicar, the
Incumbent read to the assembled Parents, Scholars, and friends,
the new Rules and Terms of the School agreed on and approved
by the Trustees and Managers. Certificates of the completion of
the building were signed, and a copy of Houldsworth's Hymn
Tunes presented to the National School Mastsr, Mr. J ohn Mel-

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

176

lor, as a testimony of respect and approbation. Rewards were
also given to the Monitors, the children having received theirs, as
usual, on Easter Monday. A Schoolmistress was added, and Miss
Betty Varley, of Lingards, appointed (who continued until her
resignation at Christmas, 1848) to conduct the girls’ School, in¬
cluding sewing and knitting (now first introduced), but under the
superintendence of the Master with regard to order, writing, and
arithmetic.

Accommodation being now afforded in the new edifice (which
is a very much admired Gothic building) for 308 children, allow¬
ing six square feet for each, the Trustees of the old Free School
agreed to the request of the Minister to pay for the instruction
of the number of free Scholars directed by the deeds, on the usual
terms of the National School ; which are ten shillings per annum
for each, including every branch of learning taught in the School ;
until the old School should be revived : and this arrangement
continued until the latter event in July, 1846. The Earl of
Dartmouth and a few other friends became annual subscribers,
and the School became exceedingly flourishing.

The peculiarity of the site and many unforeseen expenses had
increased the cost of erection, completion, and inclosure of play
ground, far beyond the original estimate : so that, although con¬
siderable donations were obtained, (including £100 from the Earl
of Dartmouth), it became necessary to make an additional effort,
especially as it was thought desirable, if possible, to provide free
residences for the Master and Mistress. Accordingly the ladies
proposed to have a Bazaar of fancy and useful works ; for this
purpose, a committee of the friends of the School was formed, and
the plan carried out with great spirit. The patronage of Her
Majesty the Queen Dowager, the Countess of Dartmouth, and
the Honourable Lady Ramsden was obtained, and each of these
ladies sent very handsome donations of articles and money. The
Earl of Dartmouth honoured the occasion with a visit ; as did a
large number of wealthy and respectable friends. The Bazaar
was held in the School-room, which wras beautifully adorned for
the purpose ; and the stalls were supplied and held by Mrs.
Armitage and daughters, Milnsbridge House ; Mrs. Bateman,
Vicarage, Huddersfield ; Mrs. Hulbert and friends, Mrs. R.
Varley and friends, Mrs. Dransfiel.d and friends, who were
assisted by other ladies. The sum realized by this effort was
about £350, and which, after meeting the deficiency of building
and furnishing the School-house, left a surplus of £150 ; which,
though a noble sum, not being sufficient for the building of resi¬
dences, and no help being then obtainable from public sources,
was invested on mortgage of property. In 1842, a Deed of En¬
dowment and declaration of Trust was made, enrolled and regis¬
tered, to which the Earl of Dartmouth (as founder) and the
Trustees were parties : and which set forth the rules and principles

176

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of the School more particularly, and places it under the manage¬
ment of the Incumbent of Slaithwaite. The interest being devoted
to the purposes of the School, until the principal may be required
for its original intention, has been applied to the reduction of the
rent of the commodious houses situated at School Terrace, in
Lingards, which having been erected in 1825 as a proprietary
Grammar School, had, on the failure of that undertaking, reverted
to the Earl of Dartmouth, and which were, in August, 1842,
taken, for the use of the Master and Mistress, from his Lordship
on advantageous terms. They were fitted up for occupation at
the joint cost of the landlord and School Trustees. This arrange¬
ment still continues ; and for the annual allowance amounting to
£7 10s. the Master and Mistress teach fifteen free scholars.

July 22nd, 1841. — The Schools were visited for the first time
by the Rev. J ohn (now Archdeacon) Allen, Her Majesty’s
Inspector of Schools, who reported that they “ appeared to be
making hopeful progress,” and much admired the building.

October 7th, 1841. — On the occasion' of holding a Confirmation
for the second time in Slaithwaite Church, the Right Reverend
the Lord Bishop of Ripon visited the School, and expressed his
satisfaction with the building and School generally. Among the
76 young persons, presented by me for Confirmation on that oc¬
casion, were many teachers and scholars of the School. There
was an increase of 55 upon the number presented in 1838.

Palm Sunday, March 20th, 1842. — The annual sermons were
preached by the Rev. J. Bateman, Yicar of Huddersfield, and
the Incumbent of Slaithwaite, when £7 7s. 9d. were collected.

The old Free School, as before stated, was suspended on the
occurrence of the vacancy of a Master : the Trustees (under ad¬
vice of counsel) allowed the surplus funds to accumulate to form
a fund for rebuilding ; and which, in 1842, had amounted to a sum
which, with £100 from the Earl of Dartmouth and other dona¬
tions, enabled the Trustees to contemplate the re-erection of the
School and Schoolmaster's house ; but it was desirable that the
site should be either changed or enlarged. The former having
been deemed unadvisable, an additional piece of ground was pur¬
chased from the Earl of Dartmouth, and conveyed by his
Lordship to the Minister, Chapel wardens, and Overseers of Slaith¬
waite for ever : for the purposes cf the said School for poor
children, according to the principles of the Established Church ;
and by the same deed (as the original site had no proper title) the
Trustees in possession conveyed the same (under the powers of a
recent act of parliament) to the Minister, &c., for the uses of the
said School ; the School itself and all its trusts remaining under
the management and control of the Minister and the Trustees of
the Endowments for the time being for ever. The School was at
the same time united with the Ripon Diocesan Education Society,
and a scheme for its revival as a Middle School for Classical and

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

177

Commercial Education submitted to the Lord Bishop, who ex¬
pressed his approbation of the same in all its parts.

On the 28th March, 1842, being Easter Monday, in the
afternoon, the Teachers and Scholars of the Sunday Schools, 320
in number, after divine service in the Church, proceeded to witness
the laying of the first stone of the new building by the Incumbent
and Trustees ; after which they received their usual rewards.
The building was covered in the same summer, but, owing to
deficiency of funds, was not completed. At length, after much
correspondence, a donation of £15 from Adelaide, the Queen
Dowager, and grants of £132 from the Committee of Council on
Education, and £50 from the National Society were obtained.
The School was declared complete, and in July, 1846, re-opened,
by the appointment of Mr. Charles Butler Hulbert, (not a
relative), of Trinity College, Dublin, as Master ; and, with the
assistance of his wife, a boys’ and girls’ School opened with every
prospect of success. The right of Inspection was granted to the
Committee of Council on Education, by a Memorial of the Minister
and Trustees, dated Nov. 4th, 1844. The School was united
to the National Society, as a Middle School, February 25th, 1846,
on occasion of obtaining the grant above named, and for which
we were indebted to the zeal of the Archbishop of York, at
the instance of his brother, the Venerable Archdeacon Musgrave.
In this School building also Mr. Richard Varley, as Treasurer,
was my principal assistant.

Thus the district within a mile of Slaithwaite Church had been
provided with Schools ; and the amount of education imparted
was very considerably increased in the seven years between June,
1839, and 1846 ; but the Chapelry extending very widely in the
North and West direction, there was a considerable population
still out of reach of these Schools, especially in the winter season.
My attention had also been drawn, in the year 1843, to a Sunday
School conducted in a building which had been a Wesleyan
Meeting-house, situated at “ O’Cot,” on Pole Moor, within the
township of Scammonden, but very near the limits of my Chapelry,
which drew its teachers and scholars chiefly from the upper part
of Slaithwaite. At the request of the teachers, and with the
sanction of the Rev. R. Younger, Incumbent of Scammonden, I
visited that School several times, and contributed to its support ;
but, being inconveniently distant, and badly situated, • it was
desirable to find some better position from which to operate on
that part of the population. At the same time the National
Society raised a large sum for the purpose of Education in the
Manufacturing Districts, and I obtained a promise of £150. I
sought therefore to purchase the Wesleyan Chapel, as it was the
private property of the Executors of the late Mr. Oastler, who
built it from a charitable feeling to the wants of the very poor
and ignorant population of that wild district, in the year 1825, —

178

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

but which undertaking failed for want of due support. Ultimately
the purchase was effected for the stun of £150, out of which Mr.
Richard Oastler kindly returned £5 for the benefit of the
persons who had claims upon the chapel, and expressed his great
pleasure at its appropriation to Church purposes.

In the meantime I laid the case before the Earl of Dartmouth,
and proposed the erection of a new School on a piece of waste
ground, called the “ the Shred,” between Birks, Bradshaw, and
Woolroyd, in the higher part of Slaithwaite, and about two miles
from the Church and Schools, and to remove the said chapel with
all its fixtures to the site, — rebuild it as a National School, to be
licensed for Divine Worship by the Bishop. His Lordship very
kindly responded to the appeal, — consented to give an acre of
waste land, as a site and field garden, — and also a donation of
£75 towards the purchase of the Meeting-house. With these, and
some smaller donations in my hand, I went again to the Committee
of Council and the National Society, and, after much correspon¬
dence, obtained in July, 1844, the promise of £210 from the
National Society (instead of £150), and £190 from the Committtee
of Council, for the erection of a new School and Master’s house,
and the purchase of the old site and buildings. At this time Her
Majesty’s Inspector of Schools — Rev. E. Watkins visited the
existing Schools, and also the wild spot proposed as the location
of the new one. On the 12th August, 1844, being the day of
the Lord Viscount Lewisham attaining his majority, and also
“ Slaithwaite Feast Monday,” the first stone of the School was
laid. The ground was prepared ; but the building was not pro¬
ceeded with until the following year, owing to difficulties in
obtaining the conveyance and other legal instruments. The new
site (nearly an acre of land) was conveyed by the Earl of Dart¬
mouth and Lord Lewisham to the Archdeacon of Craven, the
Incumbents of Slaithwaite and Farnley Tyas, and their successors
for ever, as a site for the Upper Slaithwaite National School
and School garden ; and the premises purchased from Mr. Oastler
were also conveyed to the same Trustees for a School or as an
endowment to the Upper Slaithwaite National School. Both
Deeds were duly enrolled and registered ; and the building was
proceeded with after Whitsuntide, 1845, when legal possession of
the O’Cot* premises was obtained. In the mean time the Sunday
School was continued at the O’Cot, and a week-day School com¬
menced in a cottage at Cockley Cote, near the intended School,
and which was opened November, 1844, and conducted by Mr.
Thomas Bottomley, the first Master. Divine Service was also
performed once a month, by permission of the Bishop and the
Rev. R. Younger, in the old Wesleyan Chapel, until Whit-Sunday,
1845, when a final service was performed, and the facts of the
conveyance and future appropriation were publicly declared. I

* “ O’Cot,5’ an abbreviation of Oastler’* Cottages,— become a local name.

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

179

had now obtained the services of a Curate, by the aid of a grant
from the Additional Curates’ Society, originally applied for by my
predecessor, and the Rev. Charles Brumell, B.A., commenced
his duties after Michaelmas, 1844. Henceforth a third service
every Sunday was afforded, either in the Church or one of the
School rooms, by permission of the Bishop ; and that which
was wanting at Holthead was supplied at Upper Slaith-
waite : viz., the means of forming in the minds of the children
the habit of public worship, according to the doctrines and
discipline of the Church. At the third Confirmation, in October,
1 846, sixty-six young persons were admitted by the Bishop.

The School-house at Upper Slaith waite was completed suf¬
ficiently to be occupied as a School in January, 1846, and thither
the Sunday and Day Schools were removed, and the Master
having married, commenced residence at Easter following. The
gallery, pulpit, and pews had been removed and adapted to the
new erection, which was of the same dimensions with the old one,
but more ecclesiastical. And on Easter Sunday and Monday it was
opened for divine worship : when sermons were preached by the.
Revds. Joseph Hughes, Incumbent of Meltham, J. M. Max-
field, Incumbent of Marsden, and myself; after which small
collections were made. The neighbours contributed their labour
in hewing out foundations, play ground, &c. ; and Mr. James
Bamforth, of Birks, as Treasurer, superintended the whole work
gratuitously, and laboured very hard in the good cause. With
the exception of these, and a few other donations (for which see
the Benefaction Board, Appendix No. 6,) the expense of School,
School-house, Endowment, conveyance, completion and adorn¬
ment, (about £800) were defrayed by the public grants and the
Earl of Dartmouth.

The deficiency proved to be much greater than was anticipated ;
and my difficulty would have been very great indeed had not the
noble Earl most munificently cancelled a debt of £200 advanced
as a building fund, until the grants could be realised, — making
his Lordship’s contribution altogether, including the value of the
land and its fencing, breaking up, and conveyance, about £350.

The School is now in a flourishing state, containing about 150
Scholars on Sundays, and 50 or 60 on the week day, when the
weather permits. It is a great blessing to that remote and ro¬
mantic neighbourhood, and the service, now conducted every
Sunday afternoon, well attended by persons in the neighbourhood.
Public Baptism and Churching are administered, by licence of the
Bishop, and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper occasionally.

By the exertions of Mrs. Hannah Cock, of Cophill, a Bell was
purchased, and the hills and valleys around this Temple in the
Wilderness, resound to its “churchgoing” tones. By the benevo¬
lence of the noble Earl and other friends, this School is also sup¬
ported with £15 annual subscriptions ; the first Master having been

180

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

approved by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools, had an augmenta¬
tion of £15 per annum, with the assistance of a pupil teacher, who
received a stipend also from government, and the Master was
also paid for his instruction. The present Master receives the
rent of a cottage left upon the old premises at O’Cot, for his
superintendence of the Sunday School, subscriptions £15, and the
weekly contributions of the children. His wife assists him in the
general instruction of the girls — especially in sewing and knitting.

Such are the permanent provisions made for Church education
in this place in 1850. The National School, now denominated in
official documents, the Lower Slaith waite National School, con¬
tinues to flourish under the original Master ; and has received
repeated visits and encomiums from Her Majesty’s Inspector of
Schools. It in consequence received, under the Minute of 1846,
the grant of four pupil teachers, with stipends to them, and to
the Master for their instruction.

Robt. J. Saunders, Esq., Her Majesty’s Inspector of Factories,
has also recommended, on three occasions, donations from Her
Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Home Department, from the
Factory fines fund, amounting to £25, and which have been
expended in the purchase of books, maps, &c., for the general use
of the School, and books, stationery, and prizes for the poorer
mill children. In January, 1849, the last donation of this kind
of £10, was met by the Earl of Dartmouth and other friends
with an equal sum, and the government allowed £7 ; whereby
maps and books of a secular kind of the value of £27, at the
reduced prices of the Committee of Council, were obtained for
the School. Several grants of books, amounting to £20, have also
been made by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

The annual sermons have been regularly preached about Easter,
and the collections have gradually increased : indicating an im¬
proved interest in the cause of Scriptural education among the
people, which is truly gratifying to my mind. There remained
however a debt of £15 due to the Executors of the late Mr.
Richard Yarley, on account of the School, which it did not
seem practicable to discharge, when, on my representation of the
case in October, 1848, our noble Patron again released me by
clearing off the debt ; and I have the satisfaction of knowing that
on none of the undertakings is there now (1850) any debt remaining
relative to the building or completion. Various improvements
and repairs, especially in ventilation and drainage, are necessary,
and I much desire to see a regular annual subscription list, for all
these purposes, and it is my hope that this statement may have
that effect. On a review of the past, I can but “ thank God and
take courage ; ” but we need much prayer, much diligence, much
devotedness, that the blessing may be obtained from on high, and
that many souls may be nurtured in the admonition of the Lord
within our School walls.

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

181

To the Female Teachers of our Sunday School, it is no vain
compliment to bear the most grateful testimony for their un¬
wearied dilligence. We want more zealous Male Teachers, and a
more lively interest among the inhabitants in general in what is
going on. Much prejudice still remains and Satan fosters every
evil work ; but He who has been with us hitherto will doubtless
go with us unto the end, if we look up to him, in secret and
family devotion, as well as in the ordinances of his Church, and
the pastures of his word.

A Day School was also opened in May, 1849, in a cottage at
Boothbanks, another distant hamlet in the western part of
Slaith waite.

Among other incidental provisions may be mentioned the
Slaithwaite Mechanics’ Institution, which was commenced
in June, 1847, by a number of young men, many of them formerly
scholars in our Sunday or National Schools, without my know
ledge ; but they requested me, in October following, to inspec:
their rules, and become their President, to which I consented
upon their unanimous adoption of the following rule, “ That no
thing contrary to the Holy Scripture or the Established form o!
Religion should be admitted into the Library, Lectures, or
Meetings.”

The scattered nature and extent of the population committed
to my charge, at first much discouraged my mind, but in January
1841, 1 was enabled to form a District Visiting Society, which
has ever since continued, and forms a blessed means of commmii •
cation between the Ministers and people. The primary duty
being the distribution of tracts and the collection of informath i
which at the monthly meetings held in my library, we are enabled
to obtain from the dilligent and faithful District Visitors, who are
chiefly experienced men, at whose recommendation temporal and
spiritual relief is aforded to those who need, and whose counsel is
sought on most occasions of difficulty. Many who first began
with me this good work have been called to their reward ; they
were among the excellent of the earth. But I refer you to the
annual Reports of this Society, which have been my annual
pastoral address for the whole period.

I should not omit to mention two useful funds, which are
perhaps not sufficiently known. In 1840, Mrs. Hulbert com¬
menced a Maternal Society', for the benefit of lying-in married
women, under the patronage of the lamented Countess of Dart¬
mouth ; and bags of useful articles are lent, relief given, and visits
paid to poor women, who are recommended in due time by the
subscribers, and each by some neighbour who is willing to guarac
tee the safety of the bag, and its return in a proper state at the
end of the month. The subscription entitling to a recommenda
tion is half a crown.

182

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

In 1842 also, a Clothing Club was instituted under the same
patronage, in connection with the National School, for the supply
of articles of clothing to the children and their families. The
materials are purchased at the lowest price, are cut out and made
up in the School, under the superintendence of the Mistress, and
a half yearly sale is held of them before Christmas and Whitsun¬
tide. Weekly deposits are received from the children, to which 20
per cent, are added as premium, and tickets issued equivalent to
the several deposits and premiums, which are received as money
at the sale. Thus the parents obtain, on easy terms, articles of
clothing for their children, at less than the mere cost of the mate¬
rials, and the girls are learning at the same time the useful art of
needlework. The premiums are also furnished by subscription.

The Spade Husbandry Association, needs only to be men¬
tioned in its bearing on the Schools. In both the Lower and
Upper National Schools, while the girls are taught plain sewing
and knitting (for which prizes are given), all the boys who are
taught freely are exercised in garden and field labour ; and the
Reports annually published, since 1844, have afforded gratifying
results.

To these facts, contained in the first Decennial
Report, were appended the following practical obser¬
vations : —

I can but hope that these various plans may all tend to the
holiness and happiness of the people ; and if so, the services and
sacraments of the Church will be duly appreciated and used. The
congregations are indeed large, but when we consider the number
of the people, we cannot but feel that many are very irregular,
and some entirely negligent. There is however a very strong
regard exhibited for the sacred edifice of the Church itself, which
though it possesses no architectural beauty, is venerable in my
eyes, as it is venerated in your hearts, as the labour of a genera¬
tion of plain and pious Churchmen, who had no external help, and
few to guide them. Whose hearts were set on earnest godly
service ; who loved the Gospel, and the Church because it was
the messenger of Christ. And their descendants have been
rightly jealous of that (to them) “holy and beautiful house where
their fathers praised God ; ” and have not allowed it to go into
decay.

It is no small matter of satisfaction that this has been done by
the regular and lawful assessment of the Chapelry, without inter¬
mission. A Church Rate has never been refused for the necessary
repair and decent performance of divine worship. Moreover, in
1842, an Additional Burial Ground being purchased and in¬
closed, was consecrated on St Luke’s Day, Oct. 18th, by the Bishop

FIRST DECENNIAL REPORT.

183

of Ripon, who the same evening, presided at the Annual Meeting
of our Church Missionary Association, in the National School
Room. The expense of the ground (besides a gift of stone for its
inclosure from the Earl of Dartmouth) was defrayed by a rate
on the Chapelry. It is true that the amount thus levied is
not great, about one penny halfpenny in the pound per annum,
but the principle is important and the sum sufficient for the pur¬
pose. Various improvements have been effected in the Church
by subscription, and the benevolence of individuals ; and Benefac¬
tion Boards erected in the Church to commemorate various acts of
this nature, and stimulate the zeal of future ages. Let us remem¬
ber that we can best shew our respect for our forefathers by
imitating their good example ; and requite the benefits they have
bequeathed to us, by transmitting those benefits undiminished to
posterity. For when men can contentedly see the Churches of
their fathers fall into ruins over their very ashes, they may expect
to see their own hearths usurped by strangers, and their title
deeds scattered to the winds !

But what is the Material to the Spiritual Church ! We are
now looking forward to another Easter, and another Confirmation
of Baptismal vows immediately succeeding. May it be refreshing
to the minds of your Ministers, my beloved, friends, to see an
increase of those who “flock like doves to the windows,” like
Noah’s dove, to the Ark of the communion of the Church, where
only you can find rest for the sole of your foot. “ The spirit and
the bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and let
him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him come and
take of the waters of Mie freely ”

The landlord has done his part to afford accommodation by the
provision of free sittings, supplied with kneelings also ; and the
benevolence of former times has made some provision for the
Minister, so that your pecuniary burdens are in this respect small.
I call therefore on you the more readily to support me in those
Institutions which are intended for your own spiritual benefit,
and the instruction of the rising generation.

To the aged I say, give us your prayer4» and your counsel : to
the active and young, your co-operation and devotedness : to the
rich, your pecuniary aid and your influence : to the poor, your
neighbourly services, in strengthening our hands, gathering in the
lambs and stray sheep : all may help forward the work of the
Lord ; and have the glorious privilege, in some or all ' of the
various plans delineated, of ’’coming to the help of the Lord
against the mighty,” — “ the unclean spirits” of “Ignorance,
Infidelity, Immorality, and Idolatry.

Let me remind you also of the Wednesday evening Lectures,
and the Church services on Saints’ days. All are intended to
refresh the weary pilgrim, “That he may drink of the brook by
the way, and so may lift up his head.”

] 84

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

During the ten years of my sojourning among you, let us reflect
that 520 Sabbaths have passed away. 1 find that I preached, in
the former five years, 767 Sermons and Lectures ; in the latter
five years, during which I have had the assistance of Curates,
1,028 — and they at least 250, making altogether 2,045 public
addresses, preceded by solemn services. During the past year
four or five every week The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper
has been administered monthly in the Church, and occasionally at
Upper Slaith waite, altogether about 130 times — 1,265 Baptisms
and 865 Burials have been solemnized — (Awful thought. How has
the congregation of the dead increased ! — 220 young persons have
been admitted to Confirmation — only about 120 to the Lord’s
Supper. Where are the other hundred ? There are now about
600 children and young persons under instruction altogether in
our schools ; 469 of whom assemble on the week day, and 413 on
the Sunday. How many of these are the children of God,
according to baptismal privilege ?

My dear friends, these are questions which press heavily on the
heart and conscience of your Minister, and should cause “ deep
searching of heart” in you. We must soon close our connection.
Our noble landlord has made my dwelling-place among you
handsome and convenient, and I thank him, for your sake, as well
as my own ; and I have prepared a large and wide house in your
Chapel yard, where some of my own dear flesh reposes, and where
I too may soon take my abode. Wherefore “ I will endeavour
that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always
in reipembrance.” (2 Pet.i. 15.) “Thus saith the Lord (Jer. vi.
16), stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good old way, and walk therein, and ye shall find
rest for your souls.”

“ Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceed-
ing joy. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 24, 25.

I remain, your affectionate Pastor,

C. A. HULBERT.

Slaithwaite, Lent , 1850.

THE SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

1850 to 1859.

“ Watchman ! What of the night ? Isaiah xxi. 11.

“ Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue
unto this day.” — Acts xxvi. 22.

My Dea.r Feiends, — I feel it is no small cause
of thankfulness to our common God and Saviour, that
I am spared to address to you, a second time, a Eeport
of ten years’ progress in Church and School matters
amongst you : although many to whom my former
Decennial Report was made, will not read the present
one, — for they are gone to give up their own account
before God. Ten years are a large portion of human
life — however protracted ; and to how many, if not
to myself, must this be the last decade, on which we
have now entered ! I cannot therefore but humbly
think that such periodical returns must be profitable,
as they ought to be solemnizing. While everything
else has progressed, each should ask himself, " How
old art thou ? ” Where are we ? What is our position
with regard to our personal — our souls’ history ? May
the consideration of the past humble yet encourage us.

The period of Lent, 1850, when I laid before you
my former Report, found us in the possession of a

186

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

large and comfortable, but plain Church, and three
Schoolhouses ; the former then sixty years old, the
latter — viz. the Lower Siaith waite National School,
the Old Free School, and the Upper Slaithwaite School,
all built within the preceding ten ; a Day School, then
recently begun in a cottage at Boothbanks ; but the
Church Sunday School formerly conducted at Holt-
head, in Lingards, had been suspended. We have now
to report the great improvement of our Church ; the
erection of a beautiful new School for Sunday and
Weekday instruction, at Hill Top, in Lingards; the
enlargement of the National School attached to the
Church ; the laying of the first stone of a Schoolhouse
at Boothbanks ; and the restoration and establishment
of the Free School on a more extensive plan, for the
benefit of adults "and infants. All the other Institu¬
tions mentioned in my last Beport have been continued
with more or less success. The Churchyard has mean¬
while been enlarged. Death has maintained his onward
course ; although somewhat impeded by wise and suc¬
cessful sanitary arrangements. The particulars of
these general items will form the materials of this
Beport.

Meanwhile also, surrounding parishes have been equally active ;
and the facilities afforded by the Committee of Council on Educa¬
tion, have almost reduced school building and management to a
science, whereas twenty years ago, an Incumbent was left to do
what was right in his own eyes, and could obtain very little
encouragement or advice. Sometimes, indeed, the help afforded
by the Committee of Council has been attended with conditions
difficult of fulfilment, and pressing hard upon particular localities,
so as to deprive the most needy of the help required ; but on the
whole, the Government plan of Education has worked well and

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT:

187

sucessfully ; especially where the ministerial superintendence has
been vigorous and zealous ; and where there has been found busi¬
ness talent to meet the necessary but laborious processes of
obtaining grants in aid.

The first events to be recorded are the Annual Sermons on
behalf of our Slaithwaite and Lingards Church Sunday Schools,
which have been usually preached in the Church, since 1840, on
Palm Sunday ; and the Commemorative Services on Easter Sun¬
day at Upper Slaithwaite School, since 1846, with collections
towards the expenses of Divine Service in that Licensed School.
There are also Annual Sermons in the latter school in August, in
memory of the foundation, August 12th, 1844 ; and in the Lin¬
gards School in June or July, in commemoration also of its foun¬
dation, June 10th, 1851. All these occasions are very impressive ;
crowded and attentive congregations have, each successive year,
testified the deep interest felt by the inhabitants in all these homes
of sacred feeling and instruction, by their presence and their
increasing contributions,

April 12th, 1850, the Fifth Triennial Confirmation was held
in the Church, by Bishop Longley ; when 59 young persons
belonging to our congregation were admitted to that holy rite. In
the previous instruction and examination I was assisted, as in my
other labours, by the Rev. Thomas Henry Watson, B.A., curate,
who was particularly active in promoting the Sunday School and
Evening Classes at Upper Slaithwaite. He resigned the Curacy
in December, 1850 ; and died in 1857, at Halifax in Nova Scotia,
of fever taken whilst acting as Chaplain of a ship of war — he was
the last of forty victims ; he had diligently attended and buried
the thirty-nine ! Under his especial care also the Boothbanks
School was commenced and carried on for a year and a half.

My connection with the Slaithwaite Mechanics’ Institution
having practically ceased at Midsummer, 1850, in consequence
of the acts of the members themselves ; I felt it my duty
to establish Young Men’s Classes, under the direct and perma¬
nent presidency of the Ministers of the Church. This was done
in November, 1850, in the National School Room, Slaithwaite,
and at the several other Schools also, for the benefit of the districts
around them. The latter have continued more or less ever since ;
and the Classes at Slaithwaite were carried on with great success
by Mr. John Mellor and assistant Teachers, until a Minute of
the Committee of Council in 1852, forbade Schoolmasters, receiv¬
ing Pupil Teachers and giving them additional Instruction, from
taking any part (or their Pupil Teachers) in Evening Schools.
The Secular Instruction was therefore suspended until the estab¬
lishment of the Meeke and Walker’s Institution, November, 1859,
as will be related hereafter. The Sunday Evening Bible Class
was, however, conducted with much success by the Reverend

188

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Stephen Pering Lampen, who succeeded Mr. Watson as Curate,
during the whole of his nearty six years’ residence in Slaithwaite ;
and by his successors, the Revs. Edward Gomersall Charles worth
and William Henry Girling ; and many excellent young men have
gone forth from thence to useful situations in life. The sacred
and secular Instruction are now continued, as will be hereafter
shewn, in the Institution which has been established on the basis
of a legal Constitution and Ancient Endowment, and with the
full approbation of the Committee of Council on the Education.
The “Mechanics’ Institution” has, with some interruptions,
continued in existence, and I desire to speak with much respect
of those who, for some years, have had its management. On one
occasion, in 1854, the use of the National School was con¬
ceded for a Soiree in aid of its funds, and I have occasionally
contributed books, &c., but I have not felt at liberty to rejoin it,
without such a change in its constitution, as would give the
general contributors some share in its management.

Unpleasant circumstances relative to this Institution, as well
as others connected with the Free School, contributed to the
failure of my health, at the time when, from December, 1850, to
March, 1851, I was deprived of the services of an ordained
Curate. I was seized with serious illness, whilst in the pulpit,
on Sunday, the 9th of February, and unable to resume my duties
there until Easter Sunday following, April 20th, 1851. A period of
much trial, but many mercies ; and the sympathy, then expressed
by my friends and parishioners, has left a deep impression on
my mind. I was, at the time of my attack, in the midst of the
delivery of a Course of Lectures, on the Book of Job ; which
being thus suspended in their oral delivery, were, in the end, com¬
pleted in a more permanent and satisfactory form, on my con¬
valescence, by the preparation of “ The Gospel Revealed to Job ; ”
published in 1853, and dedicated to the late Earl of Dartmouth.
This entire seclusion from active duty, has happily been the
only one which I have suffered during the nearly twenty-one
years of my Incumbency : and while it was an occasion of much
deep searching of heart, it enabled me to mature in retirement
many plans, which have subsequently found completion, by the
gracious Providence of God and the favour of my kind supporters.

Among these plans was the erection of a New Schoolhouse
for the use of the township of Lingards, in a convenient situation,
so as once more to gather in the Sunday School there, which had
been suspended since 1847. This proposal was very nobly met
by my honoured friend, the late Right Honourable William
Earl of Dartmouth, who, expressing a wish to do something more
for the good of this Parish, undertook the entire expense of the
building, the first stone of which was laid (after Divine Service at
Church) on Whit-Tuesday, June 10th, 1851, on behalf of his

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

189

Lordship, by Frederick Thynne, Esq., of Westminster, his agent ;
at Hill Top, Lingards. “For a School for poor children on the
principles of the Holy Scriptures, as expounded in the Book of
Common Prayer.” The day being exceedingly wet, the attend¬
ance at the ground was small ; but in the evening, at his Lord-
ships desire and expense, three hundred mothers of children in
the different Schools were regaled with tea ; and afterwards
addressed by the Incumbent and the Clergy present, as well as
Mr. Thynne. The occasion was connected with the then recent
birth and baptism of the present Lord Lewisham, as the founda¬
tion of the Upper Slaithwaite School had taken place on the day
of his father attaining his majority. Addresses of thanks to the
Earl of Dartmouth for this and other proofs of his munificence ;
and also of congratulation to Lord and Lady Lewisham, on the
birth of a son and heir, were carried with acclamation.

The site of the School, and the buildings to be erected thereon,
were vested by the Earl of Dartmouth and Lord Lewisham in the
Minister and Churchwardens of Slaithwaite-cum-Lingards for the
time being for ever ; by deed, duly enrolled in Chancery and
registered at Wakefield, bearing date February 28th, 1852.
The building, which is in the Tudor style, is spacious and hand¬
some, and is a very pleasing object as seen from the Railway.
It was built from the plans of Mr. Thynne ; and executed under
the superintendence of Mr. John Varley, son and successor of
Mr. Richard Yarley, in office and usefulness, as resident Steward
of the Manor. The only contribution sought for was a Grant of
£45, obtained from the National Society, towards the cost of
internal fittings. The whole expense of erection, conveyance,
and inclosure, was defrayed by the noble Earl, at a cost of £05 0.
The building was completed in twelve months, and was publicly
opened in August, 1852 ; when Mr. Isaac Taylor Bamford (son
of the late Mr. Joshua Bamford, for fifty years an eminent
Schoolmaster in Lingards) was appointed Master, ard has ever
since retained the office. With the assistance of his wife, he has
conducted the Weekday School very successfully, to the satisfac¬
tion of the Managing Committee, who consist of the Incumbent
and five other friends of the School ; according to the express
wish of the founder, to be chosen by the Minister. His Lordship
on this account declined any assistance in the building from the
Committee of Council. The Sunday School was revived and met
with like success ; and the teachers are most devoted. About
one hundred children have been, on the average, taught in the
Sunday and Weekday Schools. They attend divine Service at
the Church every Sunday afternoon, unless prevented by the
weather. One of the Ministers, or the Parish Clerk and Scrip¬
ture Reader, Mr. Joseph Mellor, commences the School each
Sunday morning with prayers. The late and present Earl, have

190

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

borne the expenses of repairs, as well as contributing £30 per
annum to the salaries of the Master, Mistress, and Sunday School
Superintendent. Thus another important Educational Establish¬
ment was supplied ; and by means of donations collected by the
late Mrs. Hannah Cock, another bell sounds over the hills each
Sunday morning, to remind the inhabitants of the duties of that
holy day. Divine Service is also celebrated monthly, on Sunday
evenings, by license of the Bishop. A harmonium was also pur¬
chased in 1857, by subscription ; half the cost (£22) was contri¬
buted by the present Earl of Dartmouth.

The inhabitants of Lingards and adjoining parts of Marsden
have always shown their appreciation of this important provision ;
and annual sermons and collections have been made to provide
the current expenses of the Sunday School ; whilst the grants of
Capitation Fees, and Pupil Teacher’s Stipend from the Committee
of Council, have encouraged, as well as helped to sustain, the
Weekday School. The opening of which has been annually
commemorated by a Tea Party and Public Meeting in the Slaith-
waite “ Feast week,” accompanied by the distribution of rewards
in books to Teachers and Scholars.

The progress of sound religious education was, in the year 1852,
much endangered by the introduction of infidel and immoral pub¬
lications, insidiously brought in by a bookseller with whom your
Incumbent strongly remonstrated, as he had begun with the pro¬
fession of religious principles, but secretly undermined them ; and
who finally left the village. On this occasion I was strongly sup¬
ported by the late Earl of Dartmouth ; and in consequence, his
Lordship and I were much and violently attacked in a public
print. But I was finally assured that I had not erred in thus
jealously watching against so dangerous an enemy, by his subse¬
quent open promotion of atheistical lectures and publications.
Sometime afterwards I was also gratified by the receipt of an
address of thanks and confidence, presented to me, signed by the
most respectable members of the Church, and of other Religious
Societies in the neighbourhood. This Testimonial, and one pre¬
sented to me (together with a suit of Robes) at Christmas, 1851,
by nine Schoolmasters, educated in our Schools, and occupying
important situations in this and other counties, are some of the
most cherished ornaments of my house.

Whilst subtle infidelity, in fact Atheism, thus attacked the
lower and most populous part of Slaithwaite, Mormonism made
some inroads into the upper district ; and several simple persons
were induced by “ another gospel,” to seek a Paradise in the
wilds of America. Both errors have however, I trust, been
nearly eradicated by the spread of sound religious instruction,
acting on the naturally strong good sense of the people.

The sympathy of the inhabitants of this valley with the sufferers

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

191

from the Holmfirth Flood, was shewn by the collection of
£104 7s. 6d., in February, 1852 ; of which, £45 12s. being
returned, a portion was devoted by the donors to the enlargement
and repair of the Church Organ ; and this became the nucleus
of that improvement, which was completed by Mr. Holt of
■Bradford. The organ was reopened on Sunday, October 23rd,
1853, when, after sermons preached by myself in the morning,
the Rev. John Haigh, Incumbent of St. Paul’s, Huddersfield, in
the afternoon ; and the Rev. Joseph Hughes, Incumbent of
Meltham, in the evening, £39 10s. were collected ; and finally,
the whole cost, about £100, was raised by voluntary subscription
and a small portion derived from the church rate. . It is said that
the largest congregations were assembled on this occasion, which
had been witnessed since the funeral sermon on the death of the
Rev. Thomas Wilson, 1809. It is remarkable that this improve¬
ment was mainly carried out by the efforts of' the grandsons of
those gentlemen who effected the purchase of the organ, just
sixty years before.

The sixth triennial Confirmation was held in the Church,
October 21st, 1853 ; when 61 of our young persons were admitted
into the full communion of the church ; again October 17th,
1856, the seventh confirmation, when 75 were admitted; this
was the last visit of the late beloved Bishop, who ever manifested
a deep interest in Slaithwaite and its institutions, which has not
ceased, now that he is removed to the richer see of Durham. I
had the honour of being called to preach his last Ordination Sermon
in Ripon Cathedral, September 21st, 1856, as I had also preached
the Visitation Sermon at Halifax, April 13th, 1853. The latter
on “The sword of the spirit which is the word of God,” having
been printed at the request of the Bishop and Clergy, has been
widely circulated among you, and contains my maturest views of
the only Infallible Rule of faith and practice.

And now I have to record a loss which spread over us a general
feeling of grief and lamentation. The annual meeting of the Spade
Husbandry Association, which had been carried on for so many years
under the patronage of the Earl of Dartmouth, was announced
for the 23rd November, 1853, but was necessarily postponed in
consequence of the alarming intelligence of the serious illness of
our noble benefactor, and whose death took place on the 22nd of
that month, at Patshull, in Staffordshire — his lordship’s newly
acquired estate. The sincere respect felt for his character, and
gratitude for his numerous acts of munificence and consideration
for all the best interests of his tenantry in this manor, were suita¬
bly expressed by the closing of shops, and the attendance of several
persons at Church on the day of his funeral. Also by the assem¬
bling of very large congregations, attired in mourning, on Sunday
the 4th of December, when I addressed to you solemn sermons on

192

SLA ITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

the occasion, from Isaiah lvii. 1, 2, and Luke vii, 4, 5. Several
of the benefit societies (or secret orders) attended in due order.
This feeling of respect received a permanent form in the ultimate
erection of a Memorial Window in the new chancel, representing
the “Good Samaritan,” with a suitable inscription. The window
was executed by Messrs. Evans, of Shrewsbury, and was the result
of a general shilling subscription, to which almost every family in
the chapelry and manor contributed, aided by a donation of £20
from Mr. Thynne, and some other donations ; the whole cost
being about £50. This memorial, while it fitly represents the
virtues of the deceased, continually inculcates the divine lesson—
“ Go, and do thou likewise.”

The sad event thus commemorated, would have been deemed
an irretrievable misfortune to all the Institutions of this place, of
which his Lordship had been the main supporter for forty-three
years; and particularly by myself, who during the preceding
fourteen, had ever experienced his most kind and paternal advice
and patronage, had it not pleased Divine Providence to raise up
in his son and successor, one whose chief aim has been to walk in
the steps of his father ; and to illustrate the family motto —
Gaudet tentamine Virtus, Virtue rejoices in trial! Very soon
after his succession to the title and estates, the Right Honourable
William Walter, Earl of Dartmouth requested a complete
account of all his father’s various subscriptions and charities, and
(with the advice of Mr. Thynne) confirmed them all : some of
them, indeed, have been subsequently augmented. I need not
tell you how truly these good auspices have been verified, by the
constant interest in our welfare, which has been manifested by his
Lordship on all occasions, and I may add, by his amiable Lady.
I may not tell you all the encouragement which his Lordship has
given me in my work. But I may tell you that on his Lordship’s
first visit after his accession to the title, which was necessarily a
private visit, he expressed a wish to do something commemorative
of the occasion ; when I suggested the erection of a New and
Enlarged Chancel. On which suggestion he eventually acted.
The present noble and admired addition to our Church was erected
at a cost of £208, at his Lordship’s sole expense, under the super¬
intendence of R. W. Moore, Esq , architect, Leeds. It was first
used for the Communion on Christmas day, 1857, and completed
previous to Palm Sunday following ; when the event was suitably
alluded to by the Venerable Archdeacon Musgrave, in advocating
our Sunday Schools. This addition, as well as the conversion by
the Churchwardens, Messrs. Horsfall and Varley, of a portion of
the West end of the Church into a commodious “ Ante- Chapel,”
to which also his Lordship contributed £10, have rendered our
large Church far handsomer, and more commodious for public
worship. The lesser congregations on Sunday evenings and

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

193

Week days are more conveniently received and addressed in the
Ante- Chapel, and the Chancel affords greater facilities for the
monthly sacraments, as well as the triennial Confirmations. The
enlargement was indeed originally recommended by the late
Bishop for the latter occasions. May these improvements receive
their best appro val in the increased number of those who draw
nigh to the Lord’s Table, and of those who, by renewing their
baptismal covenant in Confirmation, prepare themselves for the
other blessed sacrament. It is cheering to add that the people
now gladly avail themselves of the privilege, which, after a cen¬
tury’s legal suspension, was restored to them in 1850, of being
married in their own church ; and for these occasions also the
" enlarged chancel is most convenient.

For, among the benefits conferred by the late Earl since my
prior report, was the obtaining, with the consent of the Patrons
and Vicars of both the ancient Parish Churches of Huddersfield
and Almondbury — of which the ancient Parochial Chapelry of
Slaithwaite, in the former, and Lingards, in the latter, consists —
A LICENSE FROM THE BISHOP TO PUBLISH BANNS AND SOLEMNISE
marriages ; Lord Dartmouth at that time giving a rent-
charge in lieu of tithes, offerings, and fees to the Vicar of
Huddersfield. A like arrangement had been made some j^ears
before with the Vicar of Almondbury. Man-iages were to be
conducted without payment of fees to the Parish Church. This
arrangement took effect in November, 1850, and at the passing of
the law commonly called “ Lord Blandford’s Act,” brought the
chapelry within its operations. Thus, as maintained by the
Chancellor of the Diocese and other officials consulted, consti¬
tuting the ancient chapelry into a ‘‘new parish” for all eccle¬
siastical purposes, distinct and independent ; marriages between
parishioners became therefore only legal at the church of St.
James, Slaithwaite. The fact has been recognized by the vicars,
who are adequately compensated for the loss of fees. In the
case of Huddersfield, a change has taken place in the vicarage
since 1850, by the resignation of the Rev. J. Bateman, and the
succession of the Rev. Samuel Holmes, which change confirmed
the arrangement of 1850.

Another parochial benefit intended by our late noble benefactor,
was the gift of a piece of land for an Additional Burial
Ground ; that which was consecrated in 1842 having become
nearly full, and the older ones entirely so. The late Earl therefore
signified his willingness to convey the remainder of “ the
Mallingfield,” for this purpose ; which pious design was however
interrupted by his death, and not being completed in his lifetime,
as intended, by the joint consent of his lordship and his noble
heir, was however fulfilled by the present Earl at his own sole
cost and expense. It was accordingly duly prepared and inclosed
with substantial walls and gates at the cost of £130, paid by a

194

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

fate raised by Mr John Horsfall and Mr. John Varley, Church¬
wardens ; and was consecrated by the Right Rev. Charles
Thomas, first Lord Bishop of Ripon, on the 7th of June, 1855 ;
when an eloquent and suitable sermon was preached by the
Venerable Archdeacon Musgrave, D.D., on the resurrection of
the body after the image of Christ, from Philippians, iii. 21 .

The necessity of this provision has been verified by the rapid
diminution of the unbroken soil : although the returns of the
Huddersfield Union shew that this has been the healthiest district
in that Union, — the average of deaths being smaller than any
other. Attributable to the improved sanitary arrangements, as
well as the salubrity of the air, the variety and moderation of
labour, humane arrangements of manufacturers, and, I may add,
the use of the Slaith waite Baths.

On the resignation of the late master of the Slaithwaite Free
School, in December, 1858, the school premises, which had been
completed in 1846, were fcund to be in a dilapidated state, and the
farmhouse and outbuildings at Sowerby, belonging to the charity,
untenantable through age and decay. These circumstances
prevented the trustees from immediately appointing a regular
master, as there was no adequate income to offer to one, since
their first duty was to provide for the restoration of the Trust
property. They however, as formerly, provided for the due
instruction of ten poor children at the National School ; taken
from the townships of Slaithwaite, Lingards, Linthwaite, and
Golcar, according to the endowment deed of the Rev. Robert
Meeke, dated 1721, from the rents of the So wood estate, in
Stainland, conveyed and bequeathed by him, which children were
accordingly taught in the week-day by Mr. J ohn Mellor, attended
Divine Service and the Sunday School, and were catechised weekly
in the Free School by the Curate : so that all the requirements of
the foundation of the venerable Mr. Meeke were fulfilled, at a cost
of £5 per annum. The surplus rent of this estate, and the whole
derivable from the land of the Sowerby property, were devoted to
the rebuilding of the farmhouse, and the payment of a balance
due for the last Deeds of Trust. This improvement was success¬
fully carried out at a cost of £170, in the years 1854 and 1855,
and the premises let for an improved rental. Accounts were
regularly furnished every year to the Charity Commissioners, and
laid before the Parish Vestry. The Schoolhouse was used for
Bible Classes on Sunday evenings ; and on the week days, one
of the rooms of the Master’s house became a Reading Room,
where the Trustees and some principal inhabitants assembled in
the evening, and where many important local improvements were
planned and carried out. Amongst which may be named the
establishment of the Gas Company, and the lighting of not only
the houses and mills, but also the streets, with, Gas. The streets
of the town have also been materially improved and widened, by

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

195

the removal of almost every unsightly and unhealthy building,
and the erection of several neat groups of cottages, at the expense
of the late Earl of Dartmouth ; including one beautiful quartette,
devoted to the free occupation of aged or solitary persons,
known as “The Widows’ Cottages.” The Schoolhouse was
also used on various occasions for public meetings and lectures.
Notwithstanding all this, the apparent suspension of the School
became the subject of misapprehension ; and in 1857, some per¬
sons, prompted by interested legal advisers, alleged a number of
charges against the former and present Trustees, in an application
to the Commissioners of Public Charities to grant a License to
cite the Trustees before the Court of Chancery. All these charges
were fully met and refuted, by written answers and documentary
proofs. In consequence the Commissioners rejected the application
of the complainants, and approved the general management of
the Trust ; but recommended the Trustees to apply for a new
Scheme for the regulation of the School and the Property.

A Scheme was accordingly prepared at the request of the
Trustees, by a Committee composed of the Vicar of Hudders¬
field, the Incumbents of Slaithwaite and Scammonden, who were
Visitors under the original foundation, with the advice of the
Venerable Archdeacon Musgrave ; and having been accepted by
the Trustees, was presented to the Charity Board, who revised
and adapted it to their general rules, and referred it back to the
Trustees. After long correspondence, a certificate of the facts
was granted by the Commissioners ; and the Scheme, approved
and sealed, was referred to the County Court at Huddersfield.
It came on for hearing there on the 29th July, 1859, and was
duly confirmed by the Court, with the addition of an inhabitant
of Golcar and Linthwaite, respectively, as Trustees, of whom the
present Incumbents were the first appointed.

In the meantime the School property at Sowerby had been
rebuilt, and paid for ; as also the law expenses, the teaching of
the free children, and all other claims upon the Trust discharged,
including nine shillings per annum left by Mr. Meeke, for wine
for the Communion. So that at Midsummer, 1859, the Trust
was free of debt, and a balance of about £12 in hand ; which was
expended in necessary and substantial repairs of the School pre¬
mises. The new Scheme provided for the continued teaching of
the ten boys and girls according to Mr. Meeke’s foundation, at
the N ational School, from the four townships, as before named ;
and for ten adult scholars on the Walker and Ainley’s foundation,
at the Free School, out of Slaithwaite and Lingards, in Evening
Classes ; to be open also to young persons of Slaithwaite and
Lingards, and parts of Golcar and Linthwaite, within one mile of
the School. The School to be occupied also in the daytime as an
Infant School, and a residence for the Master and his family. It
was determined therefore to commence the School as soon as it

196

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

should be in a fit state. A Master was advertised for, and on
the 19th September, Mr. Samuel Mellor was unanimously elected
by the Clerical Electors and Lay Trustees, as Master. He was
well known to them, as being the son of the late Mr. George
Mellor, of Lingards, who, having held the office of Superintendent
of the Church Sunday School for forty-six years, had died March
31st, 1857. Mr. Samuel Mellor had served his apprenticeship as
a Pupil Teacher at the National School with great credit, and
had been Master of -the National School, at Famdon, Cheshire,
for nearly seven years. Mrs. Samuel Mellor superintends the
sewing department, and Miss Hannah V arley, the previous
Infant School Teacher at the National School, continues to fulfil
her office now it is removed to the Free School, which took place
in November, 1859 ; the Evening Classes having been previously
commenced.

But in order to fit up and furnish the School for these various
purposes, a considerable outlay was required, which it was neither
lawful nor practicable to derive from the School funds ; an effort
was therefore made to raise subscriptions for this purpose with
considerable success ; but the accommodation requires enlarge¬
ment in consequence of the great prosperity of the Scheme.
About eighty young men, and sixty infants are under instruction,
besides the ten free Scholars, making 150 altogether ; and it is
proposed to open Evening Classes on alternate evenings for the
young women, during the Spring and Summer months. Thus,
after twenty years of labour and anxiety, it is felt that the wise
bounty of the former Incumbent, the Rev. Robert Meeke, and
his coadjutors and followers in the same good work, Thomas
Walker, William Walker, and Michael Ainley, nearly a century
and a half ago, has been adapted to the circumstance of the
times ; and the property secured to future generations for a
“ School of Good Literature,” and Religious Instruction accord¬
ing to the principles of the Church of England, as originally
designed. The legal Scheme will render the frequent renewal of
Trust by Deeds, hitherto so expensive, unnecessary, the vacancies
being supplied by a very easy process. May the rising generation
continue in its entirety, and enjoy to the full, this good work ; by
which endowments, on sound but limited principles, that proved
beneficial in the age of their forefathers, when educational privi¬
leges were rare, are made more extensively available for general
and popular instruction.

The thirty-first of August, 1856, and the twenty-seventh of
October, 1859, are days which will long be remembered among
you. The former as that on which the present Earl and Countess
of Dartmouth first honoured us with a public visit ; when their
reception was described as one of a triumphal, almost royal,
nature, according to the ability of the inhabitants. They were
met by a procession, with banners and music, and were conducted

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

197

to the Parsonage. In the evening his Lordship presided at a
public meeting, in the National School. The Royal Standard,
his Lordship’s kind gift, floated on the Church tower : and the
Red Ensign, purchased by the people, on the School, where a
very large and respectable assemblage welcomed the noble guests.
The School premises had received considerable additions, in the
form of excavated playground behind, and large area for the same
purpose before ; a Class Room, and other conveniences, completed
at an expense of about £300. Towards which the Committee of
Council gave £120, various local friends £40, and his Lordship
the rest ; besides the additional ground, reaching from the Harp
Inn Yard to the street — all which were conveyed to the Incum¬
bent and Churchwardens by his Lordship, in Trust, and the
Deed was on that day executed by the presenting and accepting
parties.

You will recollect the very animating and encouraging speech
which was delivered by his Lordship on that occasion, in reply to
the public address presented at the meeting. The Infant School
was then commenced under the patronage of the Earl and Coun¬
tess, who contribute £10 per annum to the Mistress’s salary.

On the 27th October, 1859, his Lordship, again accompanied
by Lady Dartmouth, visited Slaithwaite ; and in the afternoon,
attended by a large number of gentry, clergy, and inhabitants,
proceeded from the Free School, to Boothbanks, where he laid
the first stone of a new National School, to be called the West
Slaithwaite National School. In the evening, after a public
substantial tea in the National School, at which our noble friends
and many other distinguished persons sat down with us ; a public
meeting was again presided over by his Lordship, when a Scheme,
founded on the legal one, was proposed for the future guidance
of the Free School ; and an Institution inaugurated under his
Lordship’s patronage, to be called “The Meeke and Walkers’
Institution ” The rules were read to the meeting, and proposed
by myself, as Incumbent and official Trustee ; and seconded by
the Venerable Archdeacon Musgrave, D.D., as one of the Trus¬
tees of the National School, in which the Free School Master
may act as Assistant. In the absence of the Vicar of Hudders¬
field from indisposition, the Scheme was supported by the Rev. T.
£. Bensted, S. J\ Lampen, and W. H. Girling, and received
unanimously. His Lordship accepted the office of Patron. A
Committee of subscribers was appointed, and a Sub- Committee of
reading members to assist in the management. Lord Dartmouth
on this occasion again assured all hearts of his deep interest in
the spiritual and temporal welfare of all his tenants and their
neighbours, by a feeling speech ; as did her Ladyship by her
presence and condescending demeanour. The meeting was, like
the former, most happy and enthusiastic ; and it is pleasing to
report that the Classes, Library, Lectures, and Reading Room

198

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

have been readily embraced, and the accommodation found too
small for their convenient operation.

The Church of Slaithwaite being very large, has frequently
been the scene of very impressive congregations ; but one pro¬
bably which occurred on Whit-Monday, 1855, stands unparalleled.
A strong feeling of peaceful charity, if not unity, had grown up
among the several denominations of ( hristians, within the sound
of Slaithwaite Church Bell ; whose fathers, sixty years before,
had all thronged its aisles from Sunday to Sunday ; and it might
be said that they stdl loved its plain though sacred walls, willingly
contributed to its support, and came in great numbers on special
occasions. The population had increased ; two Churches, at Lin-
th waite and Golcar, eight Chapels for Wesleyans and Baptists,
had arisen, within the district formerly dependent upon Slaith¬
waite Church ; and yet there were very few persons who did not
occasionally visit “The Church of their Fathers.” The idea
therefore was suggested to me by a friend of Christian Unit}'
(Mr. Joseph Mellor) and readily embraced, that an Annual
Meeting might be convened in the Church, or at least attempted
with some success, of the several Sunday Schools, on Whit- Monday.
A friendly address was therefore issued, and was favourably
responded to by three Wesleyans, one Baptist, and three General
Sunday Schools. Preliminary meetings were held, and all things
arranged most amicably ; simple and well-known hymns and
tunes were chosen, printed, and practised, and precedency given
in accommodation to the seven visitor Schools, over our own
three Church Schools, in the occupation of the Church. On the
day, which was exceedingly fine, the order was beyond all eulogy,
through the efficient' arrangement of the Churchwardens and
School Superintendents. The whole Church, pews, aisle, and
chancel, was filled. The seven neighbouring Schools occupied
the whole floor of the Church. The Church Schools the west
half of the gallery, and the general congregation the remainder.
Many could not gain admittance. The numbers, counted at the
doors, amounted to 2,160 teachers and children (about one-third of
whom belonged to the Church), and 1,140 general adult congrega¬
tion ; total 3,300 persons. In this estimate it must be borne in
mind that the Church Schools of Golcar and Linthwaite were
not present ; which would augment the number of teachers and
children, under Church instruction within the district formerly
dependent on Slaithwaite Church, to above 1,000. The service
commenced at 2.30, with singing the favourite hymn, “ Come let
us join our cheerful songs,” to the tune called “ Bromsgrove.”
The f-ffect was overpowering, After the Evening Service, read by
the Rev. S. P. Lampen, Curate, the 117th Psalm, “From all
that dwell below the skies,” was sung to the Old Hundredth
Psalm tune ; and I gave the attentive assembly an extempore
address of about twenty minutes long, on Rev. xx. 11, — “ I saw

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

199

the dead, small and great, stand before God.” A third hymn
concluded the service, which occupied altogether about an horn
and a quarter. The different Schools retired in due order to their
several places of meeting for the remainder of the evening. The
three Church Sunday Schools to the National School Room and
the playgrounds ; where, as usual on Whit- Monday evening, the
children were first regaled with buns and coffee, and then the
teachers and friends were refreshed with tea, and a most interest¬
ing meeting was held, at which addresses were delivered on the
duties and prospects of their office.

Whit- Monday, 185(3, the attempt was made to repeat the
meeting, but only three Schools attended besides our own ;
making, however, a congregation of nearly 2,000 persons ; but
the weather proving exceedingly wet, the repetition was found
inconvenient, on account of distances. It may still be hereafter
attempted occasionally : for one of the purposes originally pro¬
posed, viz., to promote in some measure visible — where there is
essential — unity in the great doctrines of salvation ; and to wit¬
ness the same to the confusion of the scoffer, according to our
Lord’s exposition of the 8th Psalm, “Out of the mouths of babes
and sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thine enemies,
to still the enemy and the avenger.” — Matt. xxi. 16.

Another of these remarkable congregations took place on Sun¬
day, October 17th, 1858, when our present revered Diocesan, the
Right Reverend Dr. Bickersteth, preached on behalf of the
Church Missionary Society, from John iii. 16, a Sermon which as
much astonished by its power as it instructed by its plainness of
speech ; the impression of which has not yet passed away ; the
children in all our Schools can still repeat the Bishop’s text —
John iii. 16. On that occasion the minister and congregation of
Linthwaite Church also attended, with their Sunday School, and
the whole Church was densely crowded.

His Lordship’s second visit, on the occasion of the eighth
Triennial Confirmation, took place September 29th, 1859, when
sixty-nine candidates from the Parish, and 280 from surrounding
Parishes, were admitted to the ordinance. On this occasion the
Bishop catechized and addressed the young persons from the
pulpit at considerable length, and received satisfactory answers,
especially from those of our own Bible Classes.

It has been satisfactory to my mind, as an evidence of your
Christian faith and disinterested care for the souls of others, that
whilst so lively an interest has been felt in our local Institutions,
and they have been so well supported, the outgoings of Christian
zeal have not been withheld from the Heathen and the Jew, or
those who are not so well supplied as ourselves with the means of
religious worship and instruction, in our own land. Our contribu¬
tions to the Church Missionary Society have gradually risen to
£36 in 1858, and to the Additional Curates’ Society (from which,

200

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

since 1844, I have received an annual grant of £80) have
amounted for 1858 and 1859, to £26 each year. In 1854 indeed
we raised £50 for the Missionary Society, chiefly by a sale of
Ladies’ Work in the Free School, to which many of the respect¬
able inhabitants of surrounding districts greatly contributed. The
British and Foreign Bible Society, the Prayer Book and Homily
Society, and the Society for promoting Christianity among the
Jews, have received much smaller contributions ; but still
denoting a sense of spiritual mercies received, and a desire that
they may be extended to yet unwatered lands. Occasional col¬
lections have also been made for the Huddersfield Infirmary,
especially on the occasion of the insertion of the Memorial
Window, representing the Good Samaritan, when £6 were col¬
lected : also for the Ripon Diocesan Church Building Society,
and other kindred objects.

The District Visiting Society has continued its steady and
useful labours, in the distribution of Tracts, in affording temporal
relief, and in constant communication with nearly every family in
the Parish. The annual Reports of this Institution have afforded
me opportunities of addressing you ; and of recording mercies and
bereavements, from time to time. Nearly all, however, of those
who, now nearly twenty years ago, entered with me into this
work, have gone to their rest ; men of plain and sober minds,
fervent piety, and self-denying zeal. “ Even so, saith the Spirit,
for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.”
Oh that there were such a heart in their sons ! That they did
but imitate as much their simple piety, as they inherit their per¬
sonal kindness and good neighbourhood ; and as they excel, in
intelligence and enterprise those who have now departed this
life in the faith and fear of God ! You, my dear friends, have
not been backward in paying all respect to the memory of your
fathers ; as many a costly monument and decent gravestone tes¬
tifies. May the Holy Spirit give you grace to follow their good
examples, by writing the truths of Christ’s holy Gospel, “ not on
tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart.”

Meanwhile, a third generation has been growing up full of
promise. Whilst many a tender bud has been nipt, and many a
blooming youth has been cut down, numbers of our young people
have gone forth into the world. In my occasional visits to distant
parishes and counties, they often refresh my soul by grateful
recognition ; for truly may I adopt the words of the loving
Apostle St. John, “ I have no greater joy than to hear that my
children walk in truth.” Twenty-six Schoolmasters and three
Mistresses, reared in our Schools, are now, like flowers trans¬
planted, shedding their fertility and beauty, on other lands.
Since the commencement of the Pupil Teacher System in 1846, a
first, second, and third series have completed their apprentice¬
ship ; eight have gone forth as Teachers, six have obtained

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

201

Government Certificates and Scholarships ; only one has failed
to follow the course for which he or she was instructed ; one is
no more ; and all, except one, are satisfactory in their respective
situations ; and return from time to time, like the dove to the
ark with the olive branch, or the bee with its stores to the parent
hive. Many other scholars are occupying respectable mercantile,
and even professional, situations in life with credit.

In our principal National School, from 1835 to 1860 — a quarter
of a century— above 2,500 scholars have been instructed, under
Mr, John Mellor, the present able and successful chief Master,
who has obtained educational honours from the Committee of
Council, and the Royal College of Preceptors. Thus a number
equal to about half of the whole existing population have passed
through his hands, and constitute the active portion of every
manufacturing establishment and religious community in the
district.

The great work of educational provision is now nearly com¬
plete ; four Schools have, during the last twerty years, been
erected, and are in efficient operation ; the West Slaith waite
School (Boothbanks) is now rising from the ground ; and it is a
token for good that we are occupying temporarily the General
Sunday School at Bank Nook, by the goodwill of the Managers,
until the new building shall be complete ; the Loomhouse, in
which the School has been conducted for ten years, being now
required for other purposes. The subscriptions to tills effort are
already very encouraging, but about £100 are wanted to complete
the cost of School and Master’s house. A house of residence is
also desirable for the Master of the Lingards School ; and it is
manifest for so wide a provision additional Clerical superin¬
tendence is needed. The Schools are the nurseries of the Church,
and it is most pleasing to see the numbers of young persons of
both sexes, who are in attendance on divine worship.

These are circumstances which cheer your Minister forward ;
despite of misconception and misrepresentation, which no moral
or scientific reformer, even our blessed Lord himself, ever escaped.
The work of general improvement has been progressive ; but its
advances are like the tides of the sea, or the motion of the stars,
rather apparent after an interval of absence, or suspended atten¬
tion, than to the constant observer. Strangers and returning
emigrants, have noted the change in the visible aspect of things.
Emigration itself, even into neighbouring districts, has received a
check from the commercial enterprise, which has recently been
awakened in our own district, and the employment given on the
spot to hand-loom weavers, who formerly had to seek for occupa¬
tion in distant places. Hence the Spade Husbandry Society, has
both served its time, in supplying an investment for labour in
seasons of need, and can be spared, since for some years the land
has been better cultivated, and there has been ample employment

202

SLA ITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

in the staple manufactures of the country. The Association has
therefore ceased its operations, except that there is an Industrial
Field Garden connected with each of our three principal Schools ;
and which receive constant encouragement from Her Majesty’s
government and the Earl of Dartmouth ; and Cottage Allotments
increase.

The sending forth however of so many active spirits into other
districts, has left us feebler at home than if they had been less
aspiring and successful. But those also who have been carried
away “to the land which is very far off, where they see the King
in his beauty,” are not few ; and their remembrance is sweet.
The venerable patriarch has sometimes been entombed with his
youthful descendants ; and they meet now, where they shall both
alike rejoice in the blessed truths, which “they have heard with
their ears, and their fathers have declared to them the wonderful
works which the Lord did in their days and in the old time before
them!” Yes, my dear friends, now, for nearly two centuries,
with brief intermission, and for one century complete, without
any intermission, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been fully,
spiritually, and practically preached and lived among you ; if I
may be allowed to add my own imperfect, but I bear you witness,
faithful ministrations, and those of my helpers in the ministry, to
those of Furly, Powley, Wilson, Chew, Walter, and Jackson;
with their assistant Ministers, Murgatroyd, Smith, Roberts, and
others. Men who were famous in their generation ; full of faith
and of the Holy Ghost. They have passed away, as we soon
must ; but the Word of God abideth for ever. The written
testimony has been circulated by us all in rich abundance, and
will remain among you and your children, when our living voice
is heard no more. It is an important and responsible fact that,
since the year 1846, when a Bible and Prayer Book Association
was formed in this place, about 1,500 Bibles, 900 Testaments,
and 1,500 Common Prayer Books have been disposed of by sale
or gift in the Parish and neighbourhood ; besides three editions of
the Selections of Psalms and Hymns, in use in the Church.
These, above 5,000 sacred volumes, average one for each indi¬
vidual in the district, and their pages, read or unread, will witness
at the last day.

To these means of religious instruction and comfort, must be
added the Sermons and Lectures delivered in the Church, Ante-
Chapel, Yestry, Schools, and Cottages, and they amount during
the last ten years to 3,500. The number of Sacraments, monthly,
at Church, and quarterly, at Upper Slaithwaite, 160 ; the Bap¬
tisms, 1,336 ; the Funerals, 737. How often the church- bell has
spoken its stirring homily ! The number of baptisms, as com¬
pared with burials, would indicate great increase in the popula¬
tion ; a positive increase of the former, as compared with the
preceding ten years, of 71, and a decrease of 132 in the latter.

SECOND DECENNIAL REPORT.

208

The increase of baptisms may be partly owing to much less
neglect of that sacrament than formerly — and the diminution of
funerals partly owing to the greater use of the Churchyards of
Linthwaite and Golcar ; but the expected Census will ascertain
the fact. I may however add that there have been 90 parties
whose banns have been published, and 80 marriages, since the
License was granted in 1850, and they are on the increase. 285
young persons have been confirmed, and our communicants are
about 100. This latter is the least cheering fact, and ought to
awaken much serious inquiry why the Lord’s Table is not better
furnished with guests. At the recent Easter Sunday communion,
however, there was a larger attendance than for many years.

Whatever shall be the result of the present agitation of the
question of Church Rates, it will always be a satisfaction that
this legal provision has never failed in Slaithwaite-cum-Lingards.
A rate for the latter Township was laid whilst this report has
been in writing, to complete its quota of the general rate, accord¬
ing to custom. The Terrier of 1770 states, that the repairs of
the Church have always been paid by these Townships ; which
indeed maintained their sole right to do so, upon the rebuilding of
the Chinch, or rather erection of the present edifice in 1788-9 :
at which time all the sittings added (about 730) were sold as
freehold occupations, to form a building fund ; without any
augmentation of income to the Minister ; inhabitants of Lin¬
thwaite and Gclcar paying larger sums than those of the legal
Chapelry, which is nearly identical with the Manor of Slaithwaite-
cum-Lingards. The Earl of Dartmouth now provides, at his
own cost, about 300 free sittings, of those belonging to the
Minister, for the use of his tenants ; there remain only a very
small proportion (about 350) for which payment of one shilling
and sixpence each per annum is made to the Minister ; and hence
the total amount of pew rents from all sources is about £50 per
annum. The net produce of the land endowment £120, and fees
about £20. Thus the permanent provision for the Minister is
less than £200 per annum. There is no legally settled Parsonage.
I name this for the removal of misunderstanding, though not
for complaint. The house provided for the Minister, from year
to year, by the free liberality of the landlord, is most commodious
and complete : and his Lordship’s other kindnesses are constant,
whilst many acts of good neighbourhood express the feelings of
the people. My children have nearly grown up among you, and
chiefly educated at home, have given me affectionate assistance in
my work, and my sons promise of future usefulness in the
Church. To their education I have added, of late years, that of
one or two others, who have also cordially lent their aid in every
good work. I cannot but hope that of these labours the Church
will reap the benefit after many days : whilst my own personal
efficiency has not been reduced, but rather increased, by g, sense

204

SLAITRWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of pecuniary independence, and by a requisite and constant
residence at home.

Our ancient, and once obscure, Chapelry is now, therefore,
become, by God’s blessing, endowed with all the appliances and
privileges of an old English Parish. I shall be very sorry if the
condition of things be ever changed — the Parochial system em¬
bracing every soul in the district in its care ; and the Church
inviting all equally to its bosom. At present we know no dis¬
tinction of sect in our ministerial visitation or charitable offices.
The withdrawal of the legal provision for its support, would
reduce the Churchwalls to a party occupation, with the abolition
of its present freedom : and there would be a consequent limita¬
tion of authority and influence in the district ; where now, happily,
there is scarce a family with which your Ministers have not some
communication, either for spiritual or temporal good. We have
many opportunities of sweet and instructive converse in our
Cottage Lectures, Public Meetings, and at Funerals, with the
Dissenting portion of the population ; and although we cannot
preserve uniformity of worship, we endeavour to maintain “ the
unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of
life.” In the silence of the grave, within our Parochial burial
ground, the Churchman and the Nonconformist lie side by side,
until, the general resurrection ; in the common and blessed hope
of which, the Ministers of the Church and their weeping relatives
commit them to the dust.

And now my second Decennial Report is ended. Let each of
us ask himself, What report have I to give of my own soul ? 1 s

it in order against the Master’s coming ? It cannot be so, unless
you are living up to the manifold privileges by which you are sur¬
rounded ; unless you are in full communion with Christ’s Church ;
in daily, hourly exercise of faith and prayer. Behold the Bride¬
groom cometh ! The Judge standeth before the door ! That each
may be enabled to welcome his approach is my earnest desire, my
prayer night and day, for you all. I value highly those splendid
labours ; but I still more value your souls ; your best, your
Testimonials of respect and regard which, a year, ago you be¬
stowed on me, and my beloved wife, the partner of all my cares
and eternal interests ; and which it is my highest ambition to have
for my hire. Your temporal interests I seek with scarcely less
earnestness ; and during the three years that, at your wish, I have
been Guardian of the Poor, I have become more intimately
acquainted with them all ; and your Ministers have been
enabled, by weekly converse on religious subjects, to hold up
the hands that hung down, and strengthen the feeble knees. But
we long to see the Lord’s Table more crowded with sincere par¬
takers : the number falls far below its due proportion to that of
the serious members of the congregation. Diffidence keeps away
many ; indecision more. Hence the inner spiritual temple has

STATE OF THE SCHOOLS.

205

not manifestly extended itself, as the external fabrics. Still the
numerous and attentive congregations, at Church and the various
School services and Cottage Lectures, are most promising ; and
deathbeds reveal many of the Lord’s hidden ones, as the last day
will, we trust, do more.

May the present extraordinary tide of commercial prosperity
not absorb men’s minds so as to provoke a reverse, from the
merciful but chastening Father of our spirits ! The Rev. William
Girling, my faithful coadjutor for the last three years, is leaving
us for a more responsible scene of labour. I bespeak your prayers
for him, and for the Rev. William Callis, his successor in this
curacy ; for my family, especially my two eldest sons now at
Cambridge preparing for the Ministry ; for the two youngest also,
whose recent effort to place a Harmonium in the Ante-Chapel,
was so kindly and liberally met as to assure me of your affec¬
tionate regard : and finally for myself, that, as long as I am
spared amongst you, I may be enabled to make full proof of my
Ministry ; and having fulfilled my course, appear before God at
last in the righteousness of Christ, and present you all before Him,
as my joy and crown of rejoicing.

Believe me to remain,

My beloved Brethren,

Your affectionate Pastor and Friend,
CHARLES AUGUSTUS HULBERT, M.A.
Slaithwaite, Easter , 1860.

STATE OF THE SCHOOLS, EASTER, 1860.

Infants .

Free School .

Lingards .

Upper Slaithwaite.
West Slaithwaite .

# EVENING- SCHOOLS.

Meeke and Walker’s .
Upper Slaithwaite. . . .
West Slaithwaite

WEEKDAY.

SUNDAY.

Boys.

Girls.

Boys.

Girls.

106

Ill

155

264

175

257

304

436

175

257

304

lotai w eeKiy Scholars .... 611 Sunday 561

Masters ...... 5 Mistresses . 6 Pupil' Teachers . 5

Sunday School Superintendents. . . .7 Sunday School Teachers no
Allowing for double returns, 800 scholars.

JOHN VARLEY, Treasurer.

CONCLUSION.

Beteospect oe the Yeabs 1860 to 1864,

AND BlOGBAPHICAL NOTICES.

To the foregoing voluminous Eeports I feel it neces¬
sary to add a few further memoranda, which may
gratefully record the blessings of the last five years.
The biographical notices of some of the departed
members of the true Spiritual Church will con¬
veniently follow.

The completion of the very beautiful School and
Master’s House at Boothbanks, denominated the West
Slaithwaite National School, was effected by the
Contractors, Messrs. Eli and David Eagland, masons,
of Slaithwaite, with the aid of other resident workmen,
within the year 1860. The plans were furnished by
Mr. Thynne, and the total value of the erection, site,
and conveyance was £1,260, of which, £860 were
defrayed by the Committee of Council ; £525 by the
Earl of Dartmouth, and £375 by local friends. (See
Appendix.) The School was publicly opened on the
12th June, 1861, by a Meeting, presided over by Mr.
Thynne, and has been very successful as a Weekday
School, but has only a small Sunday School. The Dis¬
senting party who, until recently, occupied premises as
a Sunday School, at Bank Nook, near the Boothbanks

RETROSPECT, 1860-64.

207

School, have subsequently erected a new building on
an adjoining part of the township of Marsden. Many
children of the latter Sunday School are, however,
receiving sound instruction in the week days, at our
School; and we rejoice in partial where we are not
vouchsafed full success.

The Annual Meetings of the Meeke and Walker’s
Educational Institution have been held for four
years under the presidency of the Earl of Dartmouth ;
and very numerously and respectably attended. The
Institution continues to be exceedingly useful. The
male and female Evening Classes are attended by
above 100 young persons. The general Psalmody of
the Church has been much improved by the Singing
Class ; while the Choir have continued to lead the
devotions, if possible, only too well ; as it is to be
regretted that the singing is less general in conse¬
quence. Their labours are, however, fully appreciated
by the congregation ; and it may be added that on the
24th June, 1860, on the occasion of Collections for the
Choir fund, there were 1,970 persons present, and
£22 6s. 3d. collected. And at Christmas last the
Organ was further improved, at an expense of £30,
which was partly defrayed by the produce of a “ Christ¬
mas Tree.”

The successful formation of a Company of Kiele
Volunteers, about 100 in number, marked the last
year : and they attended at Church for the first time
on the 17th of January, 1864, when a Sermon was
preached from Ecclesiastes vii. 12, which, at their

208

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

request I have published, and have dedicated it to Major
Bradbury ; to whose exertions this movement is chiefly
indebted for it success. The Corps have also received
the munificent patronage of the Earl of Dartmouth,
who, on the day of the last Meeting of the Meeke and
Walker’s Institution, publicly inspected their move¬
ments. By their very rapid progress they have afforded
proof of the benefit of previous discipline : most of them
having been scholars in our various educational estab¬
lishments. The Countess of Dartmouth also gave
encouragement to the Eemale Class by the personal
distribution of prizes at the Public Meeting.

In these Institutions, it has been sought to preserve
some connection with our young persons after they
have left the Schools ; and to operate upon them
indirectly for their spiritual good.

More directly, however, the Bible and Catechetical
Classes, held previous to Confirmation, have had
reference to this object. At the Ninth Triennial
Confirmation, held October 21st, 1862, fifty- five can¬
didates were presented and admitted, including twenty-
one males. In the preparatory labour I was assisted
by the Bev. John Teague Greenway ; as also in the
weekly Bible Class of the above Institution ; and in
the Eeadings with the aged and infirm paupers attend¬
ing for relief every Wednesday in the Vestry.

The Annual Sermons on behalf of the Sunday
Schools have been preached as usual on Palm Sunday
in each year, to very large congregations, and the
Anniversary Hymns have been a source of much

RETROSPECT, 1860-64.

209

spiritual enjoyment. For the first time this year
(1864) we have missed the voice of our late venerated
friend the Rev. Joseph Hughes. The Revs. Samuel
Holmes, Vicar of Huddersfield in 1862 and ’64, John
Blomefield, Incumbent of St. Greorge’s, Leeds, in
1861, Robt. Crowe, Incumbent of Woodhouse, 1863,
and E. C. Ince, Incumbent of Meltham Mills, in 1864,
have also, with myself, pleaded the cause of our Schools
with great success. Sermons and Collections have
been made for the smaller Schools at the usual times
and places. The amount raised in this manner has
been about £35 per annum. In 1862, the Upper
Slaith waite Schoolhouse was repaired at a cost of £63.

We have been enabled to contribute about £25
each year to the Church Missionary Society, and *we
held the Jubilee Meeting of our Association on the 9th
Sept. 1863 ; nearly the same sum to the Additional
Curates’ Society, and lesser sums to the British and
Foreign Bible Society, the Societies for promoting
Christianity among the Jews, and Irish Church Mis¬
sions, and an Annual Sermon on the Anniversary of
our Church, on behalf of the Ripon Diocesan Church
Building Society. In 1862, the sympathy of our
people was excited by the distress of the Lancashire
Operatives, and £60 were contributed in money and
goods. The Annual Collections on behalf of our
venerable Scripture Reader and Clerk, Mr. Joseph
Mellor, have also indicated the respect in which he is
held. That made on the day of the attendance of the
Rifle Volunteers, amounted to £13 10s, All these

210

SLA ITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

and the other Charitable objects supported, indicate
a very great increase of liberality in giving compared
with former years ; although the collections may not
appear adequate to the number of persons forming the
congregations ; but among whom are few who can be
called wealthy.

"With reference to the Dissenting Communities I
am happy to state that we in general live on kind and
friendly terms. On some occasions, such as the Meet¬
ings of the British and Foreign Bible Society, we co¬
operate, and we have had some meetings for mutual
prayer. On the occasion of the Marriage of the
Prince and Princess of Wales, March 10th, 1863,
the Sunday and Weekday Schools connected with the
Church, the Wesleyan Old Connexion and Wesleyan
[Reformers, and the Cloughhead General Sunday
Schools, attended afternoon service at Church to the
number of 1,350, and sung hymns appropriate to the
occasion. The Particular Baptists met us in the
village, and joined in singing out of doors, but did not
come to Church. On that occasion each community
regaled its own children, and supplied them with
medals. The Church supplied its Teachers and
Scholars, to the number of 860. About 400 persons
were also regaled in the evening, by general subscrip¬
tion, in our National School.

Our Annual Sunday School Gatherings on Whit-
Monday have continued to be held with much spirit.
In 1863, there were 742 children present, and many
teachers and friends. Our congregations continue

JOHN SCHOFIELD.

211

large ; but tbe number of our communicants has not
been proportionately increased. A larger attendance
at tbe Lord’s Table has, however, taken place on several
occasions than in many former years. My own severe
indisposition during great part of the year 1862, fol¬
lowing upon the decease of several dear friends, ren¬
dered it necessary to relax some of the exertions which
were customary ; and to decline the office of Guardian
of the Poor, which I had held for five years ; but I am
now thankful for a return of health and vigor, although
sensible of the progress of time. Many old friends
are no more among the Church Militant ; but we
venerate their memory, and long to rejoin their society
in the Church Triumphant above. It remains only to
conclude these “Annals of the Church in Slaith waite”
by brief notices of some who are gone before : but each
of whom “ By his faith, being dead, yet speaketh.”

Mention has already been several times made of
John Schofield, of Mallingfield, Slaith waite, a native
musical genius, who gave his services as Organist from
1789 until he departed this life May 24th, 1843 (being
Ascension Day), aged 76 years. The Minister and
Congregation marked their respect for his memory by
erecting a marble monument in the Church, represent¬
ing the Organ, which he played for above half a century,
in mourning, and on the drapery an inscription, inclu¬
ding the following verse :

The Lord, in this his “ lowest room,”

Long heard him lead the choir,

Then called him to his heavenly dome,

“ Come, faithful servant, higher.”

Luke xiv. 8, xix. 17.

212

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

On his tombstone — situated in the corner nearest his
house, of the new burial ground, in which he freely-
surrendered his interest as tenant — the following verse
is also engraven, in memory of his frequent and effec¬
tive performance of Martin Luther’s hymn —

Great God ! what do I see and hear,

The end of things created ;

The Judge of all men doth appear,

On clouds of glory seated.

The trumpet sounds, the graves restore

The dead which they contained before :

Prepare, my soul, to meet Him !

John Vabley, of Lingards Corn Mill, son of Mr.
John Lawson Varley, one of the Trustees for building
the Church, was a man of mild and retiring manners,
but refined and intelligent mind, with a strong feeling
of loyalty to the Queen and attachment to the Church
and its ministers. On the 10th February, 1840, the
day of the marriage of our beloved Queen, he presented
to the Church a pair of Gothic Oak Arm Chairs for
the Communion ; and in 1845, his Widow, in
conformity with his intention, added a new Oak
Communion Table and kneeling Stools in the same
style. The table is represented in the Monument
erected by her ; and over it a Scroll falls, whereon it
is recorded that, “ He fell asleep in Jesus, September
14th, 1843, aged 48 years. To a blameless conduct
before man, he added an humble spirit before God.
Looking only for salvation by faith in the blood and
righteousness of Christ, he endeavoured “to adorn
the doctrine of God his Saviour in all things”: and

RICHARD VARLEY.

213

warmly attached to the Church of England, he was
a liberal supporter of all her plans of usefulness, —
especially in this his native village.”

Mr. Yarley was Treasurer and Secretary of the
District Visiting Society from its commencement to
his death, and has been succeeded therein for the
last twenty years by his youngest brother, Mr.
Joseph Varley.

Bichard Varlet, eldest son of John Lawson
Varley, has been referred to as the early protegd of
the Bev. Thomas 'Wilson. He was born May 1784,
and was many years a Teacher, Superintendent, and
Visitor of the Sunday School in its original form ; and
ever took a lively interest in its success. When a
young man, he used to call together the workpeople of
Waterside Mill, of which he was manager, and
afterwards partner, on Saturday evening before their
departure, and closed the week with singing a hymn.
In the year 1816, he promoted the erection of the
Church Clock, with its four faces : and the formation
of the new Turnpike Boad in 1824. He projected
and erected the Slaithwaite Mineral Baths, which are
still carried on by his family, and, with the beautiful
surrounding gardens, contribute much to the health
and happiness of the neighbourhood. He was fore¬
most in designing and executing the Proprietary
Grammar School in Lingards, about the same time :
and in 1840, the making by the Earl of Dartmouth
of the Hew Boad from the village to Meltham Moor,
which was called “Varley Boad.” Eor these and

214

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

other services, the inhabitants expressed their grati¬
tude by a handsome Testimonial in plate. On my
coming to Slaithwaite, I was only too glad to find so
useful a fellow worker ; and he was introduced to my
particular confidence, by my late venerable friend
Joseph Armitage, Esq., of Milnsbridge House. How
much help he afforded will have been seen in the
foregoing [Reports. Eor the eight remaining years
of his life he was my faithful friend and adviser.
His sons have placed a handsome Monument in the
Church; which justly records that “ He died December
12th, 1847, aged 63 years. A man of sound religious
principles and amiable manners ; who promoted the
improvement of this Manor, of which he was Steward,
by the erection of public Baths and Schools ; and by
justice and kindness to all the tenants. ‘ It is required
in Stewards that a man be found faithful.* — 1 Cor.,
iv. 2.” This text, on which I discoursed on the
occasion of his death, was part of the Epistle for the
day (Third Sunday in Advent) on which he died.

Bobert Wood, the venerable Clerk of the Church
for about fourteen years, and previously of Linthwaite
Church, was a man of a holy and reverend spirit, and
much respected, although of simple and uncultivated
mind. He died in Eebruary, 1848, aged 80 years.
He was a native of Linthwaite, but died at Holt in
Lingards. His pious ejaculations and solemn observa¬
tions, in the Vestry, during the intervals of Divine
Service, often refreshed my spirit. He entered with
deep fervour into the services of the Church. His

ROBERT WOOD.

215

constant remark was, “I love the Church.’* His
favorite Psalms were the 84th — in which David’s love
for God’s house, and the 118th — in which the security
of the Church, as founded on Christ the Corner Stone,
are set forth. He was a man of great simplicity of
character, and yet not without the natural shrewdness
of the country. In August, 1842, the great outbreak
from Lancashire, still remembered as “ plug time,”
took place, and thousands of people, one Saturday,
poured over the hills which separate us from that
County, and stopped all employment (except the Corn
Mill) on their way to Huddersfield. On that occasion,
a leading Baptist said to him, “ Eobert, they will come
back and pull down your Church.” “Indeed,” he

replied. “ And do you think, J - , that they will

spare Chapels P ” Silence implied that such out¬
breaks were only the spirit of irreligious disobedience
bearing fruits ; and which would mingle in one
overthrow all religions , when once the safe barrier
of the Church was cast down. The threat was
not without some foundation, as some Churches had
been interrupted and one Parsonage attacked. We
however determined to be found at our post. We had
Divine Service not only on Sunday, but on that anxious
Monday also, when at Huddersfield the military were
obliged to charge the mob ; which they did mercifully
but effectually, by the order of Mr. Armitage, as
senior magistrate, not with bullets, but their swords,
and they soon dispersed them without loss of life.
The same afternoon we had several hundred persons

216

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

at Church ; and we found the occasion very profitable.
Happily the religious and educational benefits of the
last twenty years have been evidenced by the great
peace and order wbicb have prevailed during “The
Cotton Eamine.” Robert "Wood has left numerous
descendants who are attached to the Church in the
third and fourth generations. He was succeeded as
Clerk by Thomas Lee, a faithful and useful Church¬
man ; and on his resignation in 1851, by E. Gh Sparks,
Scripture Reader ; but more remarkably in 1853, by
our present Lay helper,

Joseph Melloe, generally known by the affec¬
tionate bye name of “ Old Brother.” Who, after
thirty years voluntary and gratuitous service as a
Methodist Local preacher in this country, has given
himself to the Church of his baptism, as Clerk and
Scripture Reader, for more than ten years ; and
who is not more remarkable for his serious piety than
his grave and facetious humour ; and I think his
attachment to the Church system is unmistakeable.

James Bameobth, of Birks, Slaith waite, a stern
but faithful man, served the office of Churchwarden
several years, during a period of great distress. He
took great interest in the erection of the Upper
Slaithwaite School : which is situated near his farm
house. He saw every stone of that building laid.
He also, with characteristic coolness, superintended
the construction of the vault in which he lies interred.
He acted as Treasurer of the funds, and, as the School
was opened for Divine Service at Easter 1846, fulfilled

JOSHUA BAMFOKD.

217

the office of Chapelwarden ; attending regularly until
his death, July 1850, — aged 75 years. For several
years he, at my suggestion, read all the daily lessons
appointed by the Church to his wife, — another
patriarchal character. They also left twelve children
and many other descendants.

Joshua Bameobd taught a School at Slacks, in
the highest part of the township of Lingards, for fifty
years ; and a large number of the intelligent elder
inhabitants of this district were instructed by him.
He was a mathematician and natural philosopher :
occasionally delivered lectures ; and corresponded with
several scientific periodicals. Mild rather than severe
in his discipline, he was rather a timid Churchman.
He died January 1851, aged 70 years. His son,
Isaac Taylor Bamford, who succeeded him in his
School, was, upon the opening of the Lingards
National School, in 1852, appointed Master ; and has
fulfilled the office, with the assistance of his wife,
with much credit until the present time; and has
obtained a Certificate of Merit from the Committee
of Council on Education. We are now engaged in
the provision of a house of residence for the Master
of this School.

Samuel Sykes, Grocer, of Slaith waite, was for
many years Churchwarden, and died June, 1855, aged
68 years. It is fitly inscribed on his monument near
the chancel, and his tombstone outside — “ Lord, I have
loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where
thine honour dwelleth,” Psalm xxvi. 8. His admira-

218

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

tion for the plain structure in which he had worshipped
so long, amounted almost to a fault : and when I pro¬
jected some alterations, including the boarding of part
of the floor, he quoted against me my own verses, —

There, constant in the well-loved place.

Each Sabbath saw them throng,

With reverent step and serious face,

The sounding aisles along :

They loved the floor their fathers trod.

For many an age long past, —

It was the ancient house of God,

From age to age to last.

He was, however, like Phineas, equally zealous for the
moral character of the place, and supported Mr. Jack-
son in his efforts to correct several glaring instances
by ineffectual appeals to Church discipline. In the
same spirit he, as Churchwarden, provided Tables of
Commandments, Lord’s Prayer, and Belief. He died
wealthy and respected.

G-eobge Melloe, of Highhouse, Linthwaite, but
latterly of School Terrace, Lingards, has already been
mentioned as, for forty-sis years, the Superintendent
of our Church Sunday School. He died March 31st,
1857, aged 78 years. He was a “Faithful Levite ” :
and my Sermon, preached on Palm Sunday following,
at our School Anniversary, was printed with the above
title, and the text, taken from Malachi ii. 6, is expres¬
sive of his character. “ The law of truth was in his
mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He
walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn
many away from iniquity” His earnest appeals to

JAMES BAMFORTH.

219

the consciences of the children in his addresses, and
his comments on the Psalms of the day, will long be
remembered by more than one generation. How
emphatically did he utter, “ The runagates shall con¬
tinue in scarceness ! ” His love for the Service of the
Church and his veneration for her ministers were
evidenced in death. When insensible to any other
communications, he followed me in some parts of the
Liturgy — and when he did not know his medical
attendant, he made a token of deep respect when his
Minister entered. His son Samuel succeeded him
in his office, jointly with his nephew John Mellor,
our principal National Schoolmaster.

James Bameorth, of Upper Holm, Slaithwaite, a
devoted Sunday School Teacher and District Visitor,
and for about six years Master of the Weekday
School at Boothbanks : was cut off in the midst of life.
He originated the Mechanics’ Institution, but it soon
passed into more advanced hands. He died of con¬
sumption in the Huddersfield Infirmary, in September,
1863, aged 42 years. To the last day of his existence
he laboured to do good to his fellow sufferers.

To these more remarkable labourers in our spiritual
husbandry might be added many more, did space per¬
mit. Handsome and becoming monuments in the
Church express the reverence of relatives for Samtjel
Wood, of Slaithwaite, John Lawson Varley, of Lin-
gards — already mentioned as trustees for the building
of the Church, — and Thomas Haigh, of Colnebridge
House, formerly of Calf hey, Slaithwaite ; all Trustees

220 SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of the Free School, and faithful supporters of the
Church in their day ; and their descendants have not
swerved from their ways. The Churchyard also con¬
tains mementoes of departed worth. John Eobebts,
Surgeon, of Scarhall, Linthwaite, well described as the
“ good Physician/’ died August, 1851, aged 61. Two
daughters rest with him, who died in faith — Alice and
Ann : the latter, wife of John Mellor, left ten children
— and the whole school in which she taught for four¬
teen years, mourning her loss, May 31st, 1862.
William Dean, of Slaith waite, was a man of talent
and extensive practice in the same profession ; but
died about the time of my coming to Slaithwaite.
The sons of these two gentlemen still minister to the
physical wants of the neighbourhood ; and are Trustees
of the Free School. To these more prominent names
must be added all those earnest and venerable men
who have laboured with me in the District Visiting
Society, since its establishment, January 4th, 1841 ;
and which Society continues to form what I familiarly
call my “ Senate,” — meeting monthly in my Library,
and the members constitute centres of communication
with the wide spread districts in which they reside
and visit.

The names of those who have gone to their rest
will be given in the Appendix, as well as of other
persons who were useful in their day and generation ;
now “gathered to their fathers,” and to those beloved
Ministers, to whom they owed their first spiritual
impressions. They shewed their love to their Master

EARL OF DARTMOUTH.

221

by walking in his steps in going about doing good ;
bringing into his fold the sheep scattered over the
mountains, and directing the shepherds themselves to
the diseased and weakly of the flock.

Among the non-resident members of the Church
who have cheered us in our labours, the late Eight
Honourable William, fourth Earl of Dartmouth,
stands foremost. — The ample records of his munifi¬
cence contained in the preceding and following
pages render it unnecessary to say more here on that
subject. The singular simplicity of his character and
his retiring manners made him shrink from any public
demonstration of the interest which he took in every
religious and humane object. His judgment was clear
and his attachment to the Church unwavering. He
ever supported the cause of morality and order ; and
died in peace and Christian hope, November 22nd,
1853, aged 68. Eour Schools erected, and the whole
village improved through his patronage, attest his love
for scriptural education and the social comfort of his
tenantry.

The Memorial Window representing the Good
Samaritan has already been mentioned as the perma¬
nent expression of our respect. His Lordship was
a fellow of the Eoyal Society, Vice-Lieutenant of
Staffordshire, and an active Magistrate of that County,
in which he chiefly resided. The following character¬
istic letter was written shortly after his last visit to
Slaith waite, September 20th, 1852 ; when he presented
me with a copy of Dr. Pye Smith’s “ Scripture and

222

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Geology,” requesting my opinion of it. On this
occasion his Lordship visited the new School at
Lingards, then recently completed at his expense.

Sandwell, 10th Dec., 1852.

My dear Sir, — I'am obliged to you for your letter of the 7th
inst. I am glad to hear from you — as I had from Mr. Thynne —
that the zest for agricultural pursuits on the part of the inhabi¬
tants of Slaith waite has not ceased to exist in these days of manu¬
facturing prosperity. I shall read the printed account of the pro¬
ceedings at the late meetings with great interest, and pay much
attention to the sensible John Bamford’s lucubrations.

It gives me great pleasure to hear that your Schoolmasters and
Mistresses are “active, diligent, and successful/*' and that the
School at Lingards has made “ a good start.”

I return — with many thanks to you for letting me see it — Mr.
John Yarley’s letter to you [of Lowell, in Massachusetts, formerly
of Lowerwood, Lingards], I quite agree with you that his feeling
for his family and for you, and the interest he takes in his native
place, are very creditable to him ; and it is a fortunate circum¬
stance that his remarks, dictated by some experience in bringing
land into cultivation, arrived just in time for your Spade Hus¬
bandry Meeting.

If your work on the Book of Job is published in London, I
shall be obliged to you if you will direct my copies of it to be sent
to my house in St. James’ square.

Your quotations from infidel publications do indeed shew the
necessity and duty of endeavouring to counteract the bad effects
to be apprehended from their circulation in your neighbourhood.

Under another cover I will return herewith your Lectures upon
“ Scriptural G-eology,”with many thanks for the loan of them. I
think them very interesting and instructive. I regret that I have
little knowledge of Geology, but I have fancied that the older
formation of the earth may possibly be the remains of many former
worlds successively broken up (as we are taught that this world is
to be), and that it may seem most consistent with reason, and not
at -variance with revelation, to believe that the work of creation
and re-creation may have been going on from everlasting. That
the present race of men has not existed longer than the Scripture
narrative discloses, is, I think, substantiated by the actual moral
condition of mankind, and the great extent of countries still
unpeopled, when we consider the rapidly increasing ratio in which
both population and civilization have been advancing in the course
of the last few centuries. In former worlds it seems probable
that there would have been rational and responsible creatures, and
may they not have been raised again with their bodies, to account

FREDERICK THYNNE.

223

for the absence of their bones ! I have sometimes thought that
the whole of our Solar System may have been re-formed at the
same time, and their motions and relations to one another then
regulated , — so that the “ Sim should rule the day, and Moon the
night.” But pardon the length of these comments.

I am sorry the hand-loom weavers do not partake in the general
prosperity of factory labour, and shall be happy to contribute
towards a further supply of bedding and warm clothing ; and to
the aid of any Young Men’s Association that you may form upon
your own plan, and under your presidency, if entered upon.

I am obliged to you for sending me a copy of Mrs. Potts’s
work, and I beg to offer you my sincere condolences on the loss
of so near and dear a relative.

I remain, dear Sir,

Your faithful Servant,

The Rev. C. A. Hulbert. DARTMOUTH.

Frederick Thynne, Esq., of Great George Street,
Westminster, agent to the late and present Earls of
Dartmouth, has recently departed this life : having
for the whole period of my connection with this place
given his support and recommendation to all the
numerous plans of usefulness which have been pro¬
moted by both these noble Lords. His talents and
character were of the highest order. Eor ten years,
1844 to 1853, he enlivened by his eloquence — a
specimen of which will be added in the Appendix —
the Annual Meetings of the Spade Husbandry Asso¬
ciation, which at his instance, and under the patronage
of the late Earl, has developed the previously neg¬
lected treasures of the soil ; and enabled the tenantry
to meet the vicissitudes of manufacturing employment.
This Society having done its work, has been succeeded
by Educational efforts, in which the cultivation of a
Field Garden forms a part. The Schools at Lingards
and West Slaith waite were erected from his designs *

224

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

as also the beautiful group of “ Widows’ Cottages,”
built by the late Earl for the aged and desolate. He
generally spent his Sundays at Slaithwaite, when
paying his periodical visits. He much enjoyed the
Services of the Church, and imbibed the Evangelical
doctrines inculcated with simple faith. His last
illness, and sad bereavement of his beloved wife, were
borne with Christian resignation. He died Eeb. 7th,
1864, in his 59th year ; and is succeeded in his office
by his two eldest sons. He gave to all our institutions
his personal and pecuniary support ; and promoted
peace and good neighbourhood by his judgment in
many difficult cases arising within the Manor.

All these men were more or less famous in their
generation ; “ they rest from their labours, and their
works do follow them.” If all their sons do not equal
them in devoted piety, there has not been one family
alienated from the Church during my Incumbency ;
but many, who had departed for a time, have returned
to its communion.

The immense congregations, which on particular
occasions fill our spacious Church, evidence a strong
attachment on the part of the scattered population ;
and the Annual Meetings of the Meeke and Walker’s
Institution afford an opportunity of happy inter¬
communication between its Noble Patron, the present
and fifth Earl of Dartmouth, and the people of this
manor and parish, who always listen with pleased
attention to his sound and practical addresses. We
cannot sufficiently thank God that he has caused his

ASSISTANT CURATES.

225

face to shine from generation to generation on that
noble family, who now for three hundred years have
sustained the visible Church within this place. May
the same grace, which dwelt in the friend of Venn
and Cowper, rest upon his descendants to the remotest
times.

The Parochial Ministrations have, for the last twenty
years, been greatly aided by the services of a Curate,
through the help of the “Society for providing additional
Curates in populous places,” which has made a grant
of £80 for that purpose. 1 have thereby (with an
additional £10) been enabled to secure a succession of
faithful and devoted assistants in the Pastoral Work.
The Eev. Charles Brumell, B. A., from 1844
to 1847, now in Norfolk, was succeeded by the
Eev. Cutfield Wardroper, M. A., appointed in 1848,
Incumbent of Parnley Tyas, and Chaplain to the Earl
of Dartmouth; Thomas Henry Watson, B.A., 1848
to 1850 (deceased) ; Stephen Pering Dampen, 1851
to 1856, late Curate of Huddersfield, and nowJncum-
bent of Scammonden ; William Henry Girling, 1856
to 1860, late Curate of Eashcliffe, and now Incumbent
of Newton Solney, near Burton-on-Trent ; William
Callis, 1861 and 1862, now Curate of St. George’s,
Newcastle-under- Lyne ; John Teague Green way,
1862 and 1863, now Curate of Tideswell, Derbyshire,
and William Gray Gilchrist, L.L.B., at present
engaged in the work. All these, with the exception
of Mr. Wardroper, entered first on the Ministry here,
and he was ordained Priest, upon my nomination.

226

SLAITH WAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

All were sound and faithful Ministers of Christ’s
Holy Gospel. The Rev. E. G-. Charlesworth also
assisted for six months in 1856 and 1857.

Among those Ministers who have occasionally
occupied the pulpit, reference has frequently been
made to the recently deceased and deeply regretted
Incumbent of Meltham, the Kev. Joseph Hughes.
Eor eighteen years he pleaded the cause of our Sunday
Schools on Palm Sunday ; and the reciprocal feeling
was expressed by my Ministration at Meltham on the
like occasion on Whit-Sunday for more than twenty
years. He was a man of learning, especially in his
native language, — that of the principality ; and both
gained and conferred prizes for Welsh composition, at
the Cambrian Festivals ; wherein he bore the Bardic
name of " Carn Ingli.” He was a good preacher in
his own tongue, and possessed a power of plain
English eloquence, which rendered him a great favorite
with the congregation here. Our strong personal
attachment renders it difficult for me to say more ;
but he will no longer, in his own frequent phrase,
“ Gather up the fragments.” He is gathered to his
people, but we still in memory hear his clear full
voice, declaring with great affection and no uncertain
sound, the truths of the everlasting Gospel. He died
November 8th, 1863, aged 60 years.

The list of preachers for the Schools, presents many
other names honoured and beloved : and the Church
Missionary Society has twice been advocated before
very large congregations by our present eloquent

BISHOPS LONGLEY AND BICKERSTETH. 227

Diocesan, Bishop Bickersteth; and who has held
two Confirmations and delivered most stirring charges
to the Candidates in the Church ; preceded in the
first instance by a searching public examination.

The Records of the seven preceding Confirmations
and two Consecrations by our late revered Bishop
Longley, now occupying the highest place in the
visible Church, will be found in the foregoing pages.
His Grace still retains his interest in our spiritual
progress ; and the impression of his marvellous com¬
bination of dignity and courtesy, links itself with all
our recollections of his nine Apostolic visits to this
remote corner of his diocese. His minute attention to
all the details laid before him, especially in the early
periods of my Ministry, and his sympathy on the sad
and sudden bereavement which marked that of October
7th, 1841, can never be forgotten.* He also presided
in 1842 at the Annual Meeting of the Church Mis¬
sionary Society.

These occasions, although

“ Like angels visits short and far between,”

have served to cheer us forward in the every day
labour of life: and surely it may be said that this
ancient Chapelry has been highly favoured in the
unbroken Ministrations of the Gospel for so many
generations. The great increase of the means of
grace within God’s house, and in the five other places

* The death of Mrs. Lacy, my wife’s mother, in our house,
on the day of the Confirmation.

228

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

of occasional worship, augments the responsibility of
our case. May the condemnation of Bethsaida and
Chorazin never fall upon Slaithwaite, hut the descend¬
ants of those “who have crossed the flood or are
crossing now,” treasure up the instructions, imitate
the examples, and cherish the institutions of their
fathers ! To do this, and still more, to develope the
designs which the departed have promoted, will require
no small labour, devotedness and perseverance. May
these “Annals of the Church in Slaithwaite ” tend
under the blessing of God to this end. Cultivate, my
dear people, the same simple faith and holy self-denial :
treasure up the same blessed Bible, and that best of
all uninspired productions, the Book of Common
Prayer. So shall you keep God’s statutes and
reverence his sanctuary. And, when we are passed
away, your children’s children shall still confess in the
hallowed language which we repeat from Sabbath to
Sabbath, “ O God, we have heard with our ears and
our fathers have declared unto us the noble works
which thou didst in their days and in the old time
before them. — O Lord, arise, help us and deliver us
for thine honour.”

Slaithwaite,

Whitsuntide, 1804,

C. A. H.

APPENDIX No. VI.

To Continuation and Conclusion.

FREDERICK THYNNE, Esq.

The following is the Keport of the speech of the
above gentleman, at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the
Spade Husbandry Association, held in the National
School, Slaithwaite, November 22nd, 1848, as given in
the Leeds Intelligencer.

Frederick Thynne, Esq., of Westminster, agent to the Earl
of Dartmouth, on rising, expressed the pleasure he had in again
seeing so many of his friends on so interesting an occasion. After
alluding, with many kind expressions of his value and worth, to
the death of Mr. Richard Varley, which had taken place since
their last meeting, he proceeded to remark that the year had been
full of eventful passages, both at home and abroad. It is in times
like the present, he continued, that man should be aware of how
much importance even one individual is in the great social edifice,
and that no one was justified, either to himself or to his country,
in not fulfilling the duties that his station in life demanded.
(Cheers.) There was not a mason amongst them but was fully
aware of the importance of every stone, however small it might
be, for the safety and strength of any areh they built. If one
stone only did not contribute its proper proportion for the main¬
tenance of the whole, it would be useless, either in strength or
durability, for the purposes for which it was erected. Let them in
their imaginings consider that before them stood some fair and
noble city, replete with every thing that could give it grace or
beauty. Let them mark the width of street, the ample square,
the narrower court, all joined for one common purpose, that of
affording shelter and a home to those that dwelt in it. Let them
but look upon the humble, though useful, tenement, that served
the son of toil for a home ; let them observe the number of the
dwellings where lived their wealthier neighbours ; the beauty of
the palaces where dwelt their princes ; and the extent and magni¬
ficence of the temples erected for the worship of the Creator.

230

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Selecting from among these one pre-eminent in stateliness and
grandeur, let them note how minute were the stones that com¬
prised the building ; should one of these be wrongly placed or
badly fitted, to a certain extent strength would be lost : but if in
the building there were many such, its beauty would at once be
marred and the structure endangered ; remove but one base from
any column and the ruin of the column itself would be but a pre¬
lude to that which would betide the structure. Even thus was it
with the materials that form the social edifice of man, and unless
man himself was disposed to aid in his own destruction, he would
at once see the necessity of his bearing that allotted weight of
structure which the Almighty architect had adapted bim to
receive. (Applause.) Now let them quit the contemplation of
this scene of order and beauty, and hasten to the tented field,
where on the morning of a battle the chivalry of England lie
sleeping. Within gun-shot distance glare and blaze the watch
fires of the enemy : a musket-shot would call to arms a hundred
thousand warriors to battle for a kingdom ; yet each eye is closed
in peaceful quiet sleep, for they know that the sentinels are vigi¬
lant, the piquets on the alert, and that before danger can assail
them the alarm would be given. (Hear, hear.) Thus with full
confidence that each of that gallant host will do his own separate
and immediate duty bravely and well — thousands of Britain’s sons
can take refreshing rest, to fit them for the battle. Now see the
Eastern sky brightening with light, the sound of trumpet and
bugle is heard around. See how, by sections, companies, regi¬
ments, battalions and brigades hasten to take up their allotted
positions. The cavalry with eager hearts, and steeds that snuff
the battle afar off, sweep like a whirlwind to their appointed place,
whilst the artillery thundering from the hills, proclaim the battle
has begun. Of all these warriors not one heart fails, each knows
that he himself will do his duty, and from long knowledge of his
gallant comrades, he knows that not a man of them will fail in
theirs. Why carry on the scene further, for every battle is with
confused noise, and garments dyed with blood. Yet ere the sun
sets, rings clear and loud the shout of England’s victory, and there
is not one among the survivors on that eventful day but feels, as
he wipes his blood-stained brows, that his individual exertions have
contributed to that day’s triumph. And shall we be lacking in
our duty on the battle-field of human existence, where life and
death hang on our exertions ; where peace, not war, is the glorious
prize before us ? (Hear, hear.) Ah, if the laurel crowns the
soldier’s brow, his feet are bathed in blood ; but he who adds
something to the sum of human happiness, has a more lasting and
a more ennobling crown than he who desolates a kingdom or
throws down a throne. (Loud applause.) He (Mr. Thynne)
would, however, consider that those around him were desirous also
of fulfilling all the other social duties ; and if so, they must be

FREDERICK THYNNE, Esq.

231

aware that the first great step was industry. (Cheers.) Employ¬
ment was scarce among them, and they knew that it was likely to
be more so ; why then would they not turn their labour on the
land ? If you have a desire for emigration, he continued, the
world is all before you ; and let me suppose that some of you,
tempted by the hopes of a summer clime and better wages, decide
to do so. You will find that emigrants accustomed to live in
towns, such as weavers, &c., are expressly ill adapted for the
colony ; yet you will say, “ I am active and able-bodied, and work
can surely be obtained.” You brave the seas, the hardships of
the voyage, and on your arrival in the North American colonies
you find, if the information I now have by me is correct, that as
a farm labourer you can earn from 2s. to 2s. 6d. a day ; and thus
because you cannot get work as a hand-loom weaver, you leave
your country, your home, your cottage and land, on which, if you
exercised half the industry in remaining as you do in leaving them,
you might have as good wages, all constant work, no rigid task¬
master to measure with a griping hand your labour, but a happy
home and the smiling faces of your wives and little ones to cheer
you. (Cheers.) Strange, what perversions of the blessings sent
by God, to scorn those that lie at your own door, to beg and ask
the very same at the hands of another in a distant land ! He
(Mr. Thynne) had never told them that spade husbandry was a
panacea for all ills ; he had never held out to them that in thus
exercising his industry, man was to become either rich or powerful
or exempt from evils attending human life. Were it really so,
meetings such as these would be but little wanted ; but he had
told them, aye and he would tell them again, that a man by his
own industry could maintain his own family in decency and com¬
fort by spade husbandry. (Hear, hear.) They would urge that
the failure of crops would bring distress. No doubt it would,
but it was better to trust in Providence than in man ; and surely
very far better to risk the losing of a crop than never to take any
steps to obtain one. It was not with them, Which shall we
choose 1 but it was unfortunately, What can we do ? Mr. Thynne
then proceeded to read the debtor and creditor account of a small
spade farm in Famley, occupied by John Gill, on a spot that had
from its elevation been termed the Spitzbergen of the township,
from which it appeared that in the two years ending at Christmas
1847, the receipts had amounted to £140, and the expenditure,
including every outgoing, some thirty shillings less. A lad of
fourteen had been constantly employed every working day during
that period, at 8s., and Gill himself had lieen employed all his idle
time about seventy weeks, at 12s. a week. On the Nields Farm,
held by the Slaith waite committee, a stone-throw from where they
were standing, two hundred and one and a half days’ spade labour
expended on two and a half acres of land, had realized for the
labourer 2s. a day. The statement of John Bamford, of Barrett,

232

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

as to his farm, which they had just heard, was also quite corrobo¬
rative of the great quantity of labour that spade farming required,
and that its remuneration might be justly and fairly estimated at
2s. a day. There were in the two townships nearly 100 acres
cultivated by the spade ; it would be a low calculation to assume
£8 per acre expended in wages of 2s. a day upon this quantity.
£800 would give constant work to about 26 fathers of families all
the year round. Now, if in times of deep distress. Lord Dart¬
mouth had said, bring me 26 families out of your township, and I
will maintain them, they would have considered, and justly so,
that a most munificent offer had been made ; and yet, in the
aggregate, not more benefit would have arisen to the township
than has been contributed by the depositing of so much labour in
spade husbandry by the occupiers of the land themselves. (Hear,
hear.) Was it not true, then, that individual exertion was neces¬
sary for the good of the community, and did it not show clearly
and palpably that the winning of the battle was due to those who
individually bore the brunt of the conflict, and individually con¬
tributed that labour to obtain it.

We regret much that want of space precludes our giving more
of Mr. Thynne’s address.

In conclusion, Mr. Thynne, in bidding them look to the land as
their great labour-giver, added the following (we believe original)
lines : —

Go stand upon the hills that rise about your door ;

Go stand upon their wooded side, upon the heath-crowned moor ;

Go see the land, unploughed, untilled, teem with the richest ore.

And ask but man’s unwilling hand to grasp its yielding store.

See in your land a factory, — for strength its powers to ply ;

Its very floor is paved with gold, its canopy the sky;

The scented flowers its atmosphere ; its light the glorious sun ;

Go labour there and thrive, till life’s last labour ’s done.

The following copies of Benefaction- Boaeds and
other Public Insceiptions perpetuate the memory
of the friends of the Church and Schools during
several generations.

BENEFACTION BOARD, No. I.

(In the Church.)

The Clock was Erected in 1816.

Richard Varley promoter of the following subscriptions : —

The Rev. Charles Chew, £10. John Farrar, £10. Samuel
Wood, John Varley, senr., Lingards, Edmund Shaw, Richard
Varley, Amos Ogden, John Mellor, William Dean, George
Scholes, Prestwich, and George Roberts, senr., each 5 guineas.
Thomas Haigh, £5. William Balmforth, Lingards, and Joseph

BENEFACTIONS.

233

Varley, each 3 guineas. Richard Horsfall, and James Roberts,
Broad Oak, each 2 guineas. Timothy Armitage, James Pearson,
John Roberts, Surgeon, John Ramsden, Mill, James Ramsden,
John Ramsden, Waterside, James Ramsden, the Rev. Samuel
Walter, Jane Dyson, Huddersfield, James Wright, Lingards,
and John Meal, each one guinea. John Schofield, Thos. Varley,
Edward Kenworthy, Joseph Parkin, Linthwaite, Samuel Cotton,
Thomas Schofield, William Sykes, Hugh. Ramsden, Mill, and
John Levers, each £1. John Varley, junr., Lingards, James
Garside, Nathan Varley, Clough, Thomas Shaw, and James
Eastwood, Golcar, each half-a-guinea, Samuel Sykes, Humphrey
Wood, Joseph Meal, George Walker, Edmund Sykes, Lingards,
Daniel Taylor, Sami. Sutcliff, Abm. Sutcliff, John Sykes and Co.,
John Lockwood, Cowlersley, and John Bray, Halifax, each 10s.
Jas. Wood, 8s. Joshua Balmforth, Lingards, John Lee, and John
Bottomley, each 7s. John Waterhouse, Joseph Holroyd, Lingards,
John Fisher, and Thomas Sykes, Linthwaite, each 5s. 6d.

And the following donors of Five Shillings each John •
Hargreaves, John Varley, William Newton, Joseph Haigh,
James Sykes, John Lightowlers, James Carter, Luke Shaw, John
Dodson, Richard Lightowlers, Thomas Lee, junr., William Wood,
senr., William Wood, junr., John Balmforth, James Cooper,
William Mellor, John Eagland, Joseph Carter, Benjamin Hella-
well, Richard Eagland, Thomas Knight, Isaac Garside. William
Sykes, Benjamin Hall, Edmund Wilkinson, Bank top, Richard
Wood, Thomas Clay, James Walker, Hill top, Joseph Sykes,
Joseph Gledhill, Richard Gledhill, James Gledhill, Samuel
Cooper, David Wilkinson, Bank top, James Balmforth, Waterside,
Ely Bamforth, Waterside, Joseph Varley, Waterside, John Shaw,
Netherend, Charles Wood, James Balmforth, Lingards, James
Varley, William Varley, Henry Wilkinson, Joseph Carter,
Thomas Varley, William Pogson, Joseph Pogson, James Pogson,
George Wilkinson, Joseph Wilkinson, William Hirst, James
Armitage, Joseph Rawcliffe, Lingards, George Meal, Joseph
Johnson, Jonathan Shaw, James Shaw, Thomas Marshall, John
Sykes, William Ashton, Thomas Cotton, Linthwaite, Jonas
Broughton, George Mellor, Samuel Dyson, William Sykes, Joseph
Quarmby, John Sykes, James Dyson, John Shaw, Joseph Mellor,
Charles Hirst, J ohn Robinson, William Cotton, J oseph Parkin,
Samuel Sykes, John Taylor, William Prince, John Brook, Joshua
Tinker, James Garside, George Cotton, John Dransfield, Jonathan
Cooper, Joshua Dyson, William Sykes, Crimble, John Sykes,
Thomas Sykes, George Swift, Edmund Walker, Joseph Armitage,
Richard Swann, John Ramsden, James Quarmby, Joseph Crow¬
der, James Crowder, John Dyson, David Shaw, John Wood,
Joseph Wood, Joseph Hirst, John Shaw, Joseph Shaw, John
Dyson, junr., Huddersfield, John France, Joseph Garside, Dowry,
and John Pogson.

234

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

No. II. — (In the Church).

BENEFACTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO SLAITHWAITE
CHURCH AND CURACY,

Set up at Easter, in the year of our Lord 1843;

Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert, M.A. , Incumbent. James Bam -
forth, Birks, and Joseph Varley , Lingards, Churchwardens.

A.D.

1593. The Ancient Chapel being much decayed, was repaired and
enlarged by John Kaye, Esq., his tenants, and other
neighbouring inhabitants.

16 — . — Eastwood left by will four shillings per annum to the
Curate, which is payable out of the Binn Farm in
Marsden, at Candlemas.

1688. The Old Burial Croft given by Sir John Kaye, Bart., and
Licensed.

1718. £200 Royal Bounty was obtained for the Curate of Slai-

thwaite with Lingards, to meet £200 from Sir Arthur
Kaye, Bart., and Wilham Walker, Esq., and laid out in
buying, 46a. 2r. 19p. of land at Sowood, in Stainland.

1719. The Chapel rebuilt and a Loft erected by the Rev. Robt.

Meeke, Incumbent.

1720. Mrs. Dorothy Walker gave a Silver Communion Plate.
1724. Mr. Meeke gave by will £9, the interest to buy Wine for

the Communion: charged in 1731 on the Free School
Estate at Sowerby ; payable at Christmas. He also left
132 Books for the use of the Minister for ever.

1765. Another Loft, erected at the expense of the Rev. Samuel
Furly, Incumbent.

1776 and 1792. Two sums of £200 Royal Bounty were obtained
and laid out in buying 19a. 1e. 30p. of Land at Croft-
house, in Scammonden.

1788. The Chapel was taken down and this new one built by
faculty granted to the Rev. Thomas Wilson, Incumbent,
Joseph Eastwood, John L. Yarley, and Samuel Wood,
of Slaith waite ; and James Shaw, and John and Benj.
Sykes, of Lingards. The Right Hon. William, Earl of
Dartmouth, gave the ground.

1791. The Organ was bought and erected by subscription, and
has been twice repaired at the expense of the present
Earl (grandson of the above), at the request of Mr. John
Schofield, the gratuitous Organist for 54 years.

1809. Mr. Wilson bequeathed the house built and occupied by
him, near this Chapel, to “ the succeeding Incumbent.”
The lease was claimed by his heir on the resignation of
the Rev. Charles Chew in 1817, and sold to Mr. Wm.

BENEFACTIONS.

235

Bamforth, who let it at £16 rent to the Be vs. Samuel
Walter, M.A., and Thomas Jackson, B.D. On the
lease expiring in 1839, the premises were much enlarged
by the said Earl without increase of rent, for the Rev.
C. A. Hulbert, M.A.

1814. The Steeple built by rate, and £100 given by the said
Earl. Mr. Thomas Haigh, Churchwarden.

1816. The Clock erected by subscription, and the great Bell by
rate. Mr. James Pearson, Churchwarden.

1818. Mr. Walter increased the Free Pews provided by Mr.

Wilson for the Sunday School, to 70 sittings.

1824. The Steam Warming Apparatus was erected by the exer¬
tions of Mr. R. Varley, — first Churchwarden appointed
for Lingards.

1828. Mr. Jackson placed the Cross on the east gable.

1839. Mr. Hulbert gave 100 Books to found “The Church

Lending Library,” since augmented by the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge, and others.

1840. Mr. John Varley of Lingards (son of the above John Law-

son Varley) gave Two Gothic Arm Chairs for the Com¬
munion.

1842. The North Burial Ground bought and enclosed at the

expense of the ratepayers, and a gift of stone, value
£17 6s. 8d. from the said Earl. James Bamforth and
Joseph Varley, Churchwardens.

1843. Mrs. Hannah Mellor, of Lingards, gave 30 Books and the

Manuscripts of the Rev. John Murgatroyd to the Minis¬
ter’s library ; many of the books of which were rebound,
and a large Bookcase made to contain them, at the
expense of the present Incumbent.

1845. Mrs. Elizabeth Varley (widow of the above John Varley)
gave a new Oak Communion Table, and Kneeling Stools
with crimson cloth covers.

1848. The Pulpit, Reading Desk, Warming Apparatus, and
other Fittings of the Church were improved by subscrip-
. tion, at the cost of £25. Same time the Earl of Dart¬
mouth gave £25 to provide Kneeling Forms, and to
raise and improve the 300 sittings made “Free” at his
Lordship’s annual expense.

No. III.

SCHOOL TERRACE, LINGARDS.

Tablet commemorating the erection of that building as
a Grammar School : —

Under the Coat of Arms of the Earl of Dartmouth, with the

286

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Motto “ Gaudet Tentamine Virtus ” (Virtue rejoices in Trial), is
inscribed — “This School was erected by subscription in the year
of our Lord 1825. ’

The Right Hon. the Earl of Dartmouth, Patron £255. Mr.
Richard Varley, £85. Mr. Amos Ogden, £85. Mr. William
Dean, £85. Mr. Edmund Sykes, £85. Mr. John Meal, £85.
Mr. Humphrey Wood, £85.

No. IV. — ( In the Chwrch.)

SLAITHWAITE OLD FREE SCHOOL.

Founded AD. 1721— Restored 1846.

The Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert, M.A., Minister, Messrs.
Richard Varley (Treasurer), Tim. Armitage, Thos. Varley,
Thos . Haigh, and Joshua Dransfield, Trustees.

1721.

1723,

1731.

1732.

1744.

1842

1846.

£ s. d.

The Rev. Robert Meeke, Curate of Slaithwaite, gave by
Deed enrolled, about 7 acres of land, with buildings, at
Far Sowood, in Stainland, in Trust, for teaching poor
Children, from Slaithwaite, Lingards, Golcar, and
Linth waite, useful learning and the Church Cate*

chism, which cost . ... 101 11 0

Mr. Thomas Walker, of Huddersfield, Salter, gave by
will, dated 1719, “ In and toward the upholding and
maintaining of a School of good Literature, at

Slaithwaite.” . . 100 0 0

Mr. Michael Aneley, of Aneley Place, Slaithwaite, gave

by will . 10 0 0

Wm. Walker, Esq., of Wakefield, gave . 10 0 0

With which Sums (and £9 left by Mr. Meeke to buy
wine for the Communion) 3a. 3r. Op. copyhold Land
at Woodlane, in Sowerby, with buildings, were secured
by deed of Trust.

The said W. Walker gave £2, Mr. Edmund Bothomley,
£2 2s. (Trustees), Mr. Thomas Boulton, Master, £3 14s.

and other Inhabitants £3 14s. for the repairs of the

said buildings . 11 10 0

The School-house was rebuilt by the Rev. John Murga-
troyd, Master, the Trustees and others.

The Right Honorable Lord Guildford and North gave

thereto . 10 0 0

John Kaye, Esq., Huddersfield . . 10 0 0

The School-house was again rebuilt, enlarged, an addi¬
tional site bought, and the whole conveyed to the
Minister, Chapelwardens, and Overseers for ever, sub¬
ject to the Trusts, by the Trustees, aided by the
following donations, obtained and expended by the
Minister and Treasurer : —

Her Majesty Adelaide the Queen Dowager . 15 0 0

The Committee of Council on Education . 132 0 0

The Right Hon. William, Earl of Dartmouth ... 100 0 0
The National Society for Education of the Poor 50 0 0

BENEFACTIONS.

237

Rev. C. A. Hulbert, Richard Varley, each £10 10s. John
Varley, and Joseph Yarley, Lingards, each £5 5s. J. Farrar,
Slaithwaite, £5. Inhabitants in labour, £5. Thomas Haigh,
Colne bridge, £2. S. Sutcliffe, Painter, £2 2s. Collected in
Church, £3. An old scholar, £2. Messrs. Haigh, Uppermill,
£2. Joseph Parkin, Linthwaite, £1 Is. David Haigh, Mrs.
Brideoake, Leigh, Mrs. Mallinson, Lindley, G. Walker, John
Varley, Slaithwaite, John Roberts, Surgeon, Mrs. Shaw, late
Lingards, and Mrs. C. Shaw, Golcar, each £1. John Bamforth,
Dartmouth Arms, 10s. B. Hall, Linthwaite, 5s. 6d. John
Shaw, Slaithwaite, 7s. 6d. John Sykes, Baths, John Dransfield,
Thomas Lee, William Dean, Joseph Sykes, Joseph Shaw, John
Dodson, Richard Lightowlers, James Clay, Richard Gledhill, and
John Gledhill, each 5s.

1859. — Fitting up for the Meeke and Walker’s Institution : —
Donations, — The Earl of Dartmouth, £25. Rev. C. A. Hulbert,
£10. Messrs. Joseph Hirst, Wilshaw, £5. John Horsfall,
Slaithwaite, £5. Charles Brook, junr., Meltham, £3. Miss
Hirst, do., £2. Messrs. J. T. Fisher, Marsden, £3. J. S. Scholes,
Crumpsall, £3. Richard Shaw, Lingards, £2 2s. Bentley
Shaw, Lockwood, S. Harrison, Wakefield, each £2. J. W.
Carlile, ThickhoUins, Thomas Mallinson, Huddersfield, Joseph
Shaw, Huddersfield, Joseph Pickles, and William Roberts,
Surgeon, each £1. Joseph Brook, Huddersfield, 15s. 6d. C.
Wilkinson, 10s. T. Sykes, Scarhall, J. Rayner, Huddersfield,
Mrs. G. Roberts, Joseph Shaw, John Hirst, Marsden, each 5s.

No. Y. — (In the Chv/rch.)
SLAITHWAITE NATIONAL SCHOOL-HOUSE

Was erected in the year 1840, on a Site at Mallingfield, freely
granted by the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth.
It was built and endowed with the interest of £150, by means of
the following Grants and Donations, obtained and expended by

The Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert , M.A., Minister ,
And Mr. Richard Varley , Treasv/rer.

£ s.

Her Majesty’s Committee of
Council on Education . . 154 0
The National Society for
the Education of the
Poor in the principles
of the United Church of
England and Ireland . . 75 0
The Earl of Dartmouth . . 115 0

Sir J. Radcliffe, Bart . 20 0

G. Mackie Sutherland, Esq. 10 0

£ s.

Rev. C. A. Hulbert . 10 10

Mr. R. Yarley, Lingards 10 10
Mr. Joseph Yarley, do ,
the School Bell, and .... 6 6

Mr. J. Varley, Lingards . . 5 5

Mr. T. Varley, Edgerton . . 5 0

J. Seddon Scholes, Esq _ 5 5

Mr. J. Farrar, Slaithwaite 6 6
Mrs. Horsfall, do. 5 5

Mr. J. Parkin, Linthwaite 5 5

238

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

£ s.

Mr. S. Sykes, Slaithwaite 5 5

Mr. S. Whitehead, Marsden 5 5

William Wanklyn, Esq.,

Manchester . 5 0

John Brooke, Esq., Armi-

tage Bridge . 5 0

Stansfield Rawson, Esq.,

Gledholt . 5 0

Mr, E. Kent, Slaithwaite. . 3 3

Messrs. J. S. Scholes &

Varley, Slaithwaite _ 2 2

Mr. J. Pearson, West Top 2 0

Messrs. Haigh, Upper Mill 2 0

Mr. Thomas Haigh, Colne

Bridge . 2 0

Mr. J. Roberts, Surgeon . . 2 2

Mr. Schofield, Brighton . . 2 0

John Starkey, Esq., Hud¬
dersfield . 1 0

H. Stables, Esq., Crosland 1 0

Messrs. Poole and Gamlen,

London . 1 10

J. T. Fisher, Esq., Marsden 1 0

Mr. J. Shaw, Slaithwaite. . 1 1

Messrs. J. & S. Horsfall,

Slaithwaite . 1 1

Society of Ancnt. Foresters 2 0

Society of Odd Women .... 1 0

Do. of Royal Archers. . 0 10

Collected after Sermons in
the Church by the Revs.

J. Bateman & T. Minster,
on laying the first stone,

August irth, 1840 . 5 10

The Total Cost of the Building and
Invested on Mortgage at Halifax. . .

£ s.

Collected at the opening of
the School, after a Sermon
by the Yen. Archdeacon
Musgrave, D.D., Easter
Tuesday, 1841 . 7 12

499 13

Net Produce of a Sale of
Ladies’ Work and Fancy
Articles, held in the

School, July, 1841 .

Donations from Her Ma¬
jesty the Queen Dowager 20 0
The Earl and Countess of

Dartmouth . 30 0

The Hon. Lady Ramsden 10 0
Stall held by Mrs. Armi-
tage, Milnsbridge House 70 0
Stall held by Mrs. Bate¬
man, Vicarage, Hudders¬
field . 40 0

Stall held by Mrs. Hulbert,
Slaithwaite Parsonage . . 120 0
Stall held by Mrs. R. Var¬
ley, Lingards . 50 0

Assisted by Mrs. Roberts,

Mrs. C. Sykes, Mrs.
Dransfield, &c.

340 0

wag . 690 0

. 150 0

£840 0

Trustees of the Schools and Endowment. — The Venerable Archdeacon
Musgrave, D.D., the Rev. C. A. Hulbert, and the Rev. Thomas
Minster, M.A.

The Rev. C. A. Hulbert gave the Queen’s Arms to be fixed up in the
the Schoolroom, November, 1849.

No. VI.— (In the School.)

UPPER SLAITHWAITE NATIONAL SCHOOL AND
THE MASTER’S HOUSE ADJOINING-,

Were erected in the year 1845. The cost of the building, and
the value of the playground and field garden, together with 1,000
square yards of land at O’ Cot, in Scammonden, with a cottage

BENEFACTIONS.

239

thereon, was £750. The whole was completed by the Earl of

Dartmouth, assisted by the following donations : —

£ s. d.

Her Majesty, Adelaide, the Queen Dowager . 10 0 0

The Committee of Council on Education . 190 0 0

The National School Society, Westminster . 210 0 0

The Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert, Slaithwalte ... 500

Joseph Seddon Scholes, Esq., Slaith waite . 7 0 0

Free Labour by the neighbouring Inhabitants . 5 0 0

Do. by Mr. Samuel Sutcliffe, Lingards . 1 0 0

£428 0 0

The premises were conveyed to the following Trustees : — The
Ven. Charles Musgrave, D.D., Archdeacon of Craven ; the
Rev. C. A. Hulbert, M.A., Incumbent of Slaithwaite ; the Rev.
Thomas Minster, M.A., Incumbent of Famley Tyas, and their
successors in office for ever.

Benefactions towards fitting up this School as a Licensed
Chapel in the year 1840 : — Collected after Sermons by the Revs.
J. M. Maxfield, J. Hughes, and J. Richardson, £9. Collected
by Mrs. Hannah Cock for the bell, £3 10s. The Society for
promoting Christian Knowledge gave the Bible and Common
Prayer Book. The Minister and Chapelwardens of Slaithwaite
gave the Communion Table. The Rev. James Morris Maxfield,
Incumbent of Marsden, gave a Bass Viol, Bow, and Case, 1848.

The School-house and Licensed Chapel were repaired and
improved September, 1861, at a cost of £63 17s. 2d., by means
of the following donations : —

£ s. d.

The Right Honourable the Earl of Dartmouth . 38 4 6

Collected after Sermons by the Rev. C. A. Hulbert,

and W. H. Girling . 3 0 0

Collected by the Rev. W. Callis, Curate, J as. France,

and Reginald M. Hulbert (as follows : — ) . 22 12 8

Rev. C. A. Hulbert, Samuel Dowse, Esq., Mr. J. Horsfall,
Churchwarden, Mr. S. W. Horsfall, each £2. Messrs. John
Farrar, Joseph Yarley, William Roberts, J. Barbour, James
France, (school) each £1. Messrs. John Beaumont, James
Eagland, William France and Sons, John Haigh, Richard Shaw,
and Richard Yarley, Lingards, each 10s. John Yarley, Joiner,
8s. Joseph Sutcliffe, 6s, 6d. John Bamford, John Bamforth,
Ephraim Haigh, William Hey, Anthony Hoyle, Edward Kent,
John Sykes, and Joseph Sykes, each 5s. Various inhabitants
in sums under 5s. — £3 13s. 2d.

240

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

No. VII.

(On a stone over the School door ).

LINUARDS CHURCH SCHOOL.

Erected A.D. MDCCCLI. By the Right Honourable

William, Earl of Dartmouth,

Was conveyed in trust to the Minister and Chapel wardens of
Slaithwaite-cum-Lingards, and united to the National Society for
promoting the Education of the Poor in the principles of the
Established Church.

Rev. Chas. Augustus Hulbert , M.A., John Dransfield , and John
Varley, First Trustees.

No. VIII. ( In the School).
BENEFACTIONS FOR THE
ERECTION OF THE WEST SLAITHWAITE CHURCH
SCHOOL AND MASTER’S HOUSE.

In the year of our Lord 1860.

The Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert, M.A. , Incumbent ; Messrs.
John Horsfall , Slaithwaite, and John Varley , Lingards , Church¬
wardens.

This School-house was built on a site containing half an acre of
land, freely given by the Right Honourable William Walter, fifth
Earl of Dartmouth, and conveyed to the Minister and Church¬
wardens of Slaithwaite, and their successors for ever, in trust for
a School, to be conducted in connection with the National Society
for the Education of the Poor on the principles of the United
Church of England and Ireland, and under the inspection of the
Committee of Council on Education. The first stone was laid by
his Lordship, October 27th, 1859, and the School was opened June
12th, 1861, by a public meeting under the presidency of Frederick
Thynne, Esq. (his Lordship’s agent), from whose plans it was
completed — under the superintendence of the Minister and Mr.
John Varley— by Messrs. Eli and David Eagland, Builders and
Contractors. The total cost, including the value of the land and
conveyance, was £1,260 :

By means of the following Contributions —

The Committee of Council on Education £860 0 0

The Earl of Dartmouth . 525 0 0

Sundry persons as follow . 375 0 0

EXTRACTS FROM BURIAL REGISTERS.

241

£ a.

Frederick Thynne, Esq .... 80 0
S. Dowse, Esq., Marsden.... 50 0
Miss Dowse, ,, .... 50

Messrs. Crowther & Son, do . . 25 0
J. Farrar, Esq., Slaithwaite. . 25 0
Messrs. J. & S. W. Horsfall 25 0
Joseph Varley, Esq., Lingards 25 0

Sale of Ladies’ Work . 1710

Rev. C. A. Hulbert . 10 0

Joseph Hirst, Esq., Wilshaw 10 0
J. S. Scholes, Esq , Crumpsall 10 0
Mrs, Scholes, „ 5 0

Miss Southey, London . 5 0

Messrs. B.Sykes&Co., Marsden 10 0
E. C. Sutherland Walker, Esq.

Crow Nest, Halifax . 10 0

C. Brook, jun., Esq., Meltham 5 0
Joshua Farrar, Esq , Marsden 5 0
S. Haigh, Esq., Colne bridge 5 0
Jonathan Haigh, Esq. ,, 5 0

John Varley, Esq., Lingards 5 0
Richard Yarley, Esq. „ 5 0

Mr. John Wilkinson, Sowerby 2 2
Rev. James Brook, Helme . . 2 0
J. T. Fisher, Esq., Marsden.. 2 0

Mrs. D. Haigh, Quarmby _ 2 0

H.Hopkinson, Esq., Slaith wte. 2 0
Richard Shaw, Esq., Lingards 2 0

£ s.

Friends by Mr. John Crowther 1 18

Mr. Hall, Milnsbridge . 1 2

Mrs. Bridecake, Leigh . 1 1

Mrs. Allen, Huddersfield _ 1 0

W. H. Bayley, Esq., Salop ..10
Mr. J Bower, jun., Marsden 1 0
William Crosland, Esq., Cros-

land Moor . 1 0

Mr. A. Cotton, Marsden _ 1 0

Rev.W. Greenstreet, Patting -

ham . 1 0

Mr. William Gledhill, Lingards 110

Mr. Luke Hall, Marsden _ 1 0

Mr. John Sykes, Baths . 1 0

Mr. Joseph Parkin, Linth waite 1 0
Mr.JosephVickerman,Honley 1 0
Mrs. B. Vickerman ,, 0 10

A. B. Thynne, Esq., . 010

Mr. B. Sykes, Slaith waite Hall 0 10

Miss Martha Varley . 0 10

Mrs. Wood, Golcar . 010

Mr. Thomas Dean, Surgeon. . 0 10
Rev. Charles Brumell, Holt. . 0 5
Mr. Joshua Cock, Slaithwaite 0 5

Produce of Tea Party . 3 0

Mr. John Haigh, Slaithwaite 0 5
Friends by MissM. E. Hulbert 0 3

No. IX.

LIST OP DISTRICT VISITORS, WHO HAVE DECEASED PROM THE

COMMENCEMENT OP THE SOCIETY.

January 4th, 1841, to May, 1864.

James Sykes, Linthwaite Hall .

James Sykes, Shawfield .

J ames Sykes, Cartgate .

J ohn Meal, Vineyard .

Edmund Meal, Delves, Lingards .

John Varley, Corn Mill, Treasurer, .

Thomas Sykes, Linthwaite Hall .

Edmund Wilkinson, Bank Top, Slaithwaite
James Pearson, West Top do. ..

James Sykes, Warn do. ..

James Bothomley, Car Lane do. ..

Samuel Cotton, Linthwaite Hall .

*Richard Varley, Lingards .

Robert Wood, Clerk, Holt, Lingards .

James Sykes, Holywell .

Nathan Varley, Crimble Clough .

Michael Taylor, Hollins, Lingards .

Buried.

Age.

April 1842 .

... 82

May 1842 .

... 71

Augt. 1842 .

.. 25

Oct. 1842 .

. 75

Oct. 1842 .

... 55

Sept. 1843 .

... 48

Nov. 1843 .

... 76

Dec. 1844 ,

... 72

April 1845 .

... 79

June 1845 .

... 64

June 1846 ,

.. 76

May 1847 .

... 85

Dec. 1847 ,

... 63

Feb. 1848 .

... 80

May 1848 .

... 35

Feb. 1849 ,

... 74

Aug. 1849

... 79

242 SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

Buried. Age.

Daniel Taylor, Hilltop, Lingards . Mar. 1850 ... 71

James Bamforth, Birks . July 1850 ... 75

Joshua Bamford, Slacks, Lingards . Jan. 1851 ... 70

John Roberts, Surgeon, Scar Hall . Aug 1851 ... 61

John Eagland, Town, Slaithwaite . Aug. 1852 ... 75

Benjamin Hoyle, Woolroyd . Feb. 1853 .. 79

William Mellor, Crimble . May 1848 ... 48

John Bamforth, Inghead, Slaithwaite . Nov. 1853 ... 85

Joseph Walker, Hey, Linth waite . Feb. 1855 ... 72

Samuel Lee, Town, Slaithwaite . June 1855 ... 55

John Hoyle, Highfield do . Jan. 1856 ... 69

George Mellor, School Terrace . Mar. 1856 .. 78

Elizabeth Prince, Shawcarwood . Sep. 1857 ... 86

*John Dransfield, Blakestones . Aug, 1858 ... 66

John Sykes, late Crowtrees, died at Honley Nov. 1858 ... 46

John Bottomley, Church-street . Jan. 1859 .. 67

Robert France, Shawfield . Feb. 1859 ... 53

John Meal, Delves, Lingards . Jan. 1860 . . 75

Joseph Varley, Waterside . Aug. 1860 ... 69

John Sykes, Holtlaith, Lingards . July 1860 ... 73

Thomas Varley, Crimble Clough . Feb. 1861 ... 61

William France, Goathill, Slaithwaite . Dec. 1861 ... 78

John Sykes, (late Holm), do. . May 1862 ... 67

James Sykes, West Top, do. . Aug. 1862 ... 75

Joseph Bamforth, Birks, do. . Jan. 1863 ... 84

Samuel Sykes, Holywell, do. . Mar. 1863 ... 74

James Bamforth, Holm, do . Sep. 1863 ... 42

John Sykes, Brookside, do . Dec. 1863 ... 68

Humphrey Varley, Yewtree, Lingards . Mar. 1864 ... 69

“These all died in faith — and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.” — Heb. xi. 13.

OTHER VENERABLE OR OFFICIAL PERSONS BURIED AT
SLAITHWAITE, 1838 TO 1864.

♦Samuel Wood, Town, Slaithwaite . Nov. 1853 .. 54

William Bamforth, (late Lowerwood), Lingds. Dec. 1853 ... 57

*Rev. Thomas Jackson, B.D . May 1839 ... 50

William Sykes, Sexton . . . May 1839 ... 75

James Bamforth, Waterside . Oct. 1839 ... 75

Martha Wood, Crimble . Dec. 1839 ... 91

Sarah Castle, Huddersfield . Dec. 1840 ... 65

John Dyson, Newhouse, Huddersfield . Dec. 1841 ... 71

James Mellor, Nabb, Slaithwaite... . . June 1842 ... 79

* Amos Ogden (late Lingards), Manchester ... Aug. 1842 ... 70

John Schofield, Organist . May 1843 ... 75

Martha Wood, Golcar . June 1844 . . . 89

Betty Sykes, Shawfield . . . Oct. 1844 ... 91

EXTRACTS FROM BURIAL REGISTERS.

243

Buried. Age.

Sarah Cock (sister of John Schofield), Linth. Jan. 1845 ... 92

William Haigh, Upper Mill, Slaithwaite . May 1845 ... 75

James Bamforth, Tidingfield, do . July 1846 ... 81

*Timothy Armitage, late Steward, Rotcher .. . Nov. 1846 ... 90

John Ramsden, Ramsden Mills, Golcar . Dec. 1846 . . 77

Lydia Bamforth, (widow of Wm. Bamforth) April 1847 ... 83

* Joshua Dransfield, Blakestones . July 1848 ... 72

*Thomas Varley, School Terrace, Lingards ... Aug. 1848 ... 85

Betty Haigh, Colnebridge House . May 1849 ... 69

*Thomas Pearson, West Top, Slaithwaite . Mar. 1850 ... 57

John Shaw, Netherend, do . April 1850 ... 72

Thomas Broughton, Blakestones, do . July 1850 ... 69

James Crowther, Holm, do . Mar. 1851 ... 95

Alice Sykes. Linthwaite Hall . April 1851 ... 78

Elizabeth Schofield (widow of John Schofield) May 1851 .. 76

* Thomas Haigh, Colnebridge House . Feb. 1853 ... 78

Joseph and Elizabeth Roberts, Height, Lin- iftfcq 75

thwaite, died the same day, Feb. 18th ... 73

James Sykes, Brookside, Slaithwaite . Jan. 1853 ... 84

Hannah Mellor, Lingards . June 1854 . 75

Hannah Cock, Cophill, Slaithwaite . July 1854 . 72

Elizabeth Sykes, Shawfield, Slaithwaite . Mar. 1855 ... 79

Samuel Sykes, Town, Slaithwaite . June 1855 ... 68

Joseph France, Two Gates, do . April 1859 ... 73

Jane Dyson, Newhouse, Huddersfield . Mar. 1861 ... 76

Joseph Parkin, Star Cottage, Linthwaite ... Oct. 1861 ... 72

Mary Horsfall, Slaithwaite . Mar. 1862 ... 77

Betty Dyson, Bradshaw, Slaithwaite . June 1862 .. 83

Ann Mellor, Mistress of National School ... June 1862 . . 43

Mary Hirst, Brine Place, Lingards . Jan. 1863 ... 85

Sarah Wood, Linthwaite . Mar. 1864 ... 92

Joseph Hirst, Lower Holm . June 1863 ... 83

George Wilkinson, Dowry, Lingards . Aug. 1863 .. 80

Hannah Haigh, Kitchen, Linthwaite . Jan. 1864 ... 86

All those marked * in the two foregoing Lists were Trustees
of the Free School.

“ All that generation were gathered unto their fathers.” —
Judges ii, 7.

PROVIDENCE CHAPEL, LINTHWAITE.

The following well known names occur in the Chapel and
and Graveyard of the Particular Baptists.

“Rev. John Higson died November 22nd, 1840, aged 68
years. He was Minister of this Chapel 18 years, and was a man
of God and truth. Elizabeth also, his wife, died May 1st, 1841.
aged 67 years.”

244

SLAITHWAITE CHURCH ANNALS.

“ James Eastwood, of Blakestones, Slaith waite, who died April
23rd, 1840, and left to this Chapel the sum of one hundred
pounds, towards liquidating a debt, that was then upon the Chapel,
of three hundred pounds, and which has since been voluntarily
raised by the Church and friends at this place.” — (Tablet in the
Chapel).

“John Meal, of Lingards, died Aug. 13th, 1832, aged 48
years.”

“Joshua Garside, Car Lane, died Dec. 27th, 1845, aged 58
years.”

“Edmund Sykes, Lingards Lane, July 9th, 1848, aged 71
years.”

“John Dransfield, of Blakestones, died Dec. 31st, 1862, aged
90 years.”

“Joseph Garside (brother of Joshua, and assistant to Mr.
Holmes, at Powle Chapel), died Dec. 5th, 1862, aged 77 years.”
Mentioned in the life of the Rev. S. Walter. Buried at Powle.

IN GOLCAR CHURCHYARD.

“ James Hall, of Golcar Hill, departed this life Dec. 25th,
1850, aged 82. A stanch member of the Church of England,
of gentle manners, of unassuming deportment, benevolent and
hospitable. Having obtained a good report through faith — he
died in the Lord.”

July 9th, 1845. — Mr. Hall gave his interest in the pew No.
54, near the pulpit of Slaithwaite Church, “of his good will and
esteem for the Minister and congregation, for the use of the
Minister’s family. As a mark of thankfulness for mercies
received from God in former years within that sacred place.”

During the progress of the work, the following deaths of
of persons mentioned have also occurred.

“ Rev. Wyndham Carlyon Madden, M.A., Rector of Berg-
Apton, Norfolk, formerly Incumbent of Woodhouse, near Hud¬
dersfield, died May 13th, 1864.”

“ Edmund Smith, Esq., M.D., of Ilkley Wells, died 5th June,
] 864, at the Rectory, Richmond, the house of his brother-in-law,
Rev. R. E. Roberts, aged 60 years.”

“ Mr, Charles Evans, of Shrewsbury, who designed and
executed the Memorial Window, died April 1864.”

“ His father, and partner, David Evans, Esq., died Nov. 17th,
1861, aged 68 years.”

finis .

Printed by J. Brook, Stamp-office, Market-place, Huddersfield.

In One Volume, Octavo, Price 12s.

LONGMAN & CO., LONDON.

PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE.

THE GOSPEL REVEALED TO JOB :

OR,

PATRIARCHAL FAITH AND PRACTICE ILLUSTRATED

THIRTY LECTURES

ON THE PRINCIPAL PASSAGES OF

THE BOOK OF JOB;

WITH

EXPLANATORY, ILLUSTRATIVE, AND CRITICAL NOTES,

BY THE

REV. C. A. HULBERT, M.A.,

LATE TYRWHITT HEBREW AND CROSSE THEOLOGICAL SCHOLAR OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

“ Tlie Lectures give undoubted evidence of extensive biblical
lore, of unwearied industry and perseverance, and of a genuine
and orthodox zeal in discovering and communicating the true
meaning of many neglected or misinterpreted passages. This
important subject has never been so ably and so successfully
discussed.” — Britannia.

“A multitude of questions perpetually press on the mind of the
student. Such as, Are the alleged glimpses of the Gospel
Dispensation real or imaginary? * * Now we do*not say

that Mr. Hulbert has supplied a full and satisfactory reply to all
these questions. But we may confidently assert, that he has
approached nearer to a reply to some of them than any Com¬
mentator on the volume * * We cordially recommend Mr.

Hulbert’s volume both to our critical and devout readers.” —
Christian Observer.

“In the prosecution of Mr. Hulbert’s useful labours, it is
satisfactory to be assured that he has not indulged in any peculiar
or unauthorised expositions. * * * The exegetical notes are

extremely instructive. In them we are presented with the literal
meaning of the more difficult passages, as eliminated from the
original Hebrew, the LXX., the Syriac, and other versions, and
the Author’s conclusions. They are sufficiently copious to satisfy
the unlearned, though studious reader of the Scripture, at the
same time that the Scholar may derive much valuable information
from them, or may refresh his memory in studies perhaps too
much neglected, if not altogether forgotten, in the turmoil of
worldly avocations.” — Cambridge Chronicle.

“ All is reduced, in the result, to a form of instruction, exhor¬
tation, and admonition, so simple and impressive, as to be easily
comprehended by minds of ordinary capabilities, and received by
all who are willing to be informed with religious knowledge.
This volume is, indeed, a most valuable and interesting work, on
a subject well chosen, by one so capable of treating it worthily.”
— Leeds Intelligencer.

“ The learned and able preacher, who is favourably known as
the Author of a valuable critical and expository work entitled
‘The Gospel Revealed to Job, or Patriarchal Faith and Practice
Illustrated,’ has in his Visitation Sermon, set forth the doctrine of
the full inspiration and paramount authority of the Bible, with
force, simplicity, and unction.” — Record.

“ The (comparatively) brief book of Job is here commented on
in a volume of some five hundred pages. It will probably be
found the most complete commentary on that portion of Scripture
which has yet appeared. Mr. Hulbert has written largely, wisely,
and well upon the Man of Uz ; and he has added to what his own
experience, research, and learning afforded, a well selected mass
of contributions of our poets and prose writers, whose pens and
minds have been working on the same exalted theme. The result
is a volume of very great value.” — Church and State Gazette.

“This is one of those religious works named by Dr. Arnold, as
classing in the literary desiderata of the times : viz. a book com¬
bining a miscellaneous interest in selections, associated with
scriptural instructions.” — Eddowbs's Shrewsbury Journal.

“ A learned and most edifying volume.”— Wesleyan Methodist
Magazine.

® ketches of Character, and Other Pieces in Verse .

^ By ANNA H. POTTS. Small 8vo. pp. 215. Price 4s.

“In these days when so many poetical effusions are mere narcotic drugs, we have
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“ The Sketches of Character contained in this agreeable volume may be enumerated
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“We have no hesitation in saying that this little volume is fraught with many
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the million with which the pages of our periodicals teem ; and which we regard
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LIBEE CANTABRIGEENSIS.

PART I.

A» Account of the Aids afforded to 'poor Students ,
the encouragements offered to diligent Students, and
the rewards conferred on successful Students, in the Uni¬
versity of Cambridge ; to which is prefixed a Collection
of Maxims, Aphorisms, fyc. Designed for the Use of
Learners. By Robert Potts, M.A., Trinity College.
Fcap. 8vo.,pp. 670, price 6s. 6d.

“ It was not a bad idea to prefix to the many encouragements afforded to students
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men who have shown that learning is to be judged by its fruits in social and
individual life.” — The Literary Churchman.

“ A work like this was much wanted ."—Clerical Journal.

“ The book altogether is one of merit and value.” — Guardian.

“ The several parts of this book are most interesting and instructive. ’ '—Educational
Times.

" No doubt many will thank Mr. Potts for the very valuable information he has
afforded in this laborious compilation.” — Critic.

“ A vast amount of information is compressed into a small compass, at the cost
evidently of great labour and pains. The Aphorisms which form a prefix of 174
pages, may suggest useful reflections to earnest students.”— The Patriot.

John W. Parker, Son, & Bourn, West Strand, London.

PART II.

Containing an Account (1) of the recent changes in the
Statutes made under the powers of the Act (19 and 20 Viet .
cap . 88).* (2) Of the Minor Scholarships instituted and
open to the competition of Students before ^Residence : (3)
Of the Course of Collegiate and University Studies at
Cambridge . Price 2s. 6 d.

View of the Evidences of Christianity. In Three

Parts; and the Horce Paulines; by William Paley, D.D., Arch¬
deacon of Carlisle; formerly Fellow and Tutor of Christ’s College,
Cambridge. A new Edition, with Notes, an Analysis, and a selection
of Questions from the Senate-House and College Examination Papers ;
designed for the use of Students, by Robert Potts, M.A., Trinity
College. 8vo. pp. 568 ; price 10s. 6c?. in cloth.

“By a grace of the Senate of the University of Cambridge, it was decreed last year,
that the Holy Scriptures and the Evidences of Christianity should assume a more im¬
portant place than formerly in the ‘ Previous Examination.’ The object of the present
publication is to furnish the academical student with an edition of Paley’s Evidences
of Christianity, suited to the requirements of the examination as amended. The editor
has judiciously added the ‘Horae Paulinae’ as forming one of the most important
branches of the auxiliary evidences. He has added many valuable notes in illustration
and amplification of Paley’s argument, and prefixed an excellent analysis or abstract
of the whole work, which will be of great service in fixing the points of this masterly
Argument on the mind of the reader. Mr. Potts’ is the most complete and useful
edition yet published.”— Eclectic Review.

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petent an editor ; but we do not hesitate to aver that Mr. Potts has doubled the value
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best modern writers on the ‘Evidences,’ illustrative or corrective of Paley’s state¬
ments, — and by the Examination Papers, in which the thoughtful student will find
many a suggestion of the greatest importance. We feel that this ought to be hence¬
forth the standard edition of the ‘Evidences’ and ‘Horae.’ ” — Biblical Review.

“The theological student will find this an invaluable volume. In addition to
the text there are copious notes, indicative of laborious and useful research ; an
analysis of great ability and correctness; and a selection from the Senate-House
and College Examination Papers, by which great help is given as to what to study and
bow to study it. There is nothing wanting to make this book perfect.”— Church and
State Gazette.

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the more stringent examination in theology that is to take place in the year 1851.
The analysis is intended as a guide to students not accustomed to abstract their read¬
ing, as well as an assistance to the mastery of Paley; the notes consist of original
passages referred to in the text, with illustrative observations by the editor; the
questions have been selected from the Examinations for the last thirty years. It is an
useful edition.” — Spectator.

“ Attaching, as we do, so vast a value to evidences of this nature, Mr. Potts’
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it almost, but that it fully answers the praiseworthy purpose for which it has been
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and patience, by a skill and carefulness of no common kind, by an erudition of a
high order, he has made * Paley’s Evidences’ (a work remarkable no less for its sound
reasoning than its admirable perspicuity) adapted to the Christian student’s every re¬
quirement in the sphere it enters on. To these ‘Evidences’ the i Horae Paulin®’ has
been added, inasmuch (we quote from the preface) ‘ as it forms one of the most im¬
portant branches of the auxiliary evidences of Christianity.’ It is further added —
*To the intelligent student, no apology will be necessary for bringing here before
bim in connexion with the ‘ Evidences’ the ‘ Hor® Paulin®’ — a work which consists
Of an accumulation of circumstantial evidence elicited from St. Paul’s Epistles and the
Acts with no ordinary skill and judgment; and exhibited in a pellucid style as far re¬
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Longman & Co., London,

ml SWffiSKifcff '

Books I.— III. 3s.; Books I* T ll W Book tT Pnce 4s* 6d‘

MCa^bridg^^h S?^nV0rti0nS °f Books

or EUCLID,

tw>d £f Edu1catk0n> Homerton College, &c ^and the^onlfr,^nd <lftlllCongre8'ational
«flt Xnbe aided tS ^

the introduction of these Editions of eLhS Element? Sth T£ p|eased to °^er
under their control in Bengal, in the year 1853. ' mto the Schools and Colleges

by his EdUion^of ^uclid^s° Element?. ^F^^Whewel^T^D1 M G?ome£ical literature
Cambridge. "* "hewell, D.D., Master of Trinity College ,

of the spirit and exactness of*the GSr*G?omIter?andCtariZed by- dUC aPPreciation
tory, as well as by a knowledge of ^ d* an-ac(luaintance with its his-
Elements are given in su?h a fof m as of the Science- The

reasoning, and having been extenSvelv Ttn tlrely sPirit of the ancient

foil to have the effect of keeping un the stnrfv n/rllege + and public Schools, cannot
James Challis, M.A. , PlumianProfeswr S Geometr? “ its original purity. ”-
in the University of Cambridge. * V Astronomd and Experimental Philosophy

eause of Geometoical^Scienc?1;68! hl^d^ted'Mr^Pott ,done very great service to the
own Lectures in Geometry, and I believetw Potts w°rk, as the text-book for my
lutors and Professors in this University ”— Robert b3Lad the Mathematical
perimental Philosophy in the UnSly,

™ Printed, and had tor com. .
Pott’S, M.A., of Trinity College CambrMge wh£h is lementS^by Mr> Robert
to the extent, at least, of the Six Book! Was published tn PerSede ^ost othets>
the Demonstrations, this edition has the advantages of the s™h^i™ iT” °f ai'ran?in?
the same time free from the manifold obiections fn hcal form’ and lt is a*

decimo edition of this work, comprising only the for“L18 ?Pen- The duo-

tions from them, having been introduced c/tt,;! rf Eooks oi Euclid, with Deduc-
any other Treatise on PlanfrS d at thls Instltution as a text-book, now renders

Academy , by S. Hunter Christie M A of ^heTJse of the Royal Military

Royal Society , <?c., and Professor of MnrtZtl c«m*>ridge. Secretary of the

Woolwich. y J Mathematics in the Royal Military Academy ,

™7«pWt of Euclid’s

m a separate paragraph, and the^embersofit in semrate rPr-tmg the1syllogisra
most part, occupying a single line The diVi=;™^feparate 8abdl visions, each, for the
once without are therefore . seen at

Potts’ Edition, the great convenience whinh f tbl?Jhe only advantage of Mr.

become the Geometrical text-book of England * ThhT ^^Ultl0n.w°uld give it a claim to
Philosophical Magazine, January 1848 g Dd‘ TtU ’ bowever> ls not its only merit.”—

tnifSSBi? S.'Zffl’fi1 gTS TSlr8»0, a !f,w °f G* Geome- :

the taste as well as the skill of the Student Im c!! adP.irabl7 adapted to improve
we do not think there exists one“ all omnarable' Eft ‘A- if wus e*erc!ses’ “““d.

mauuer of iCd" ^ProbfemVoAtoSse at ?***• <*■>

‘forged and filed,’— mere books for the dulllnd the lavv & ^ S ,Kays/ as ee«eBally
no more) assistance is afforded as would om?w l y’^~in1sliort’ Justso much (and
Mr. Potts appears to us to have Mt the ^nld^ ri’ a,ffo$d£d by a ?utor to his pU
Mechanics' Maaazine , No. 1270 6 go den mean of Geometrical tutorship.” —

Mechanics' Magazine , No. 1227. on ueometry with which we are acquainted.”—

John W, Parker, Son & Bourn, West Strand, London.

FAMILY HISTORY LIBRARY

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Salt Lake City Utah 28-Mar-2007

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Full text of "Annals of the church in Slaithwaite : (near Huddersfield), West-Riding of Yorkshire, from 1593 to 1864, in five lectures, with a continuation and notes"

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